

/ 



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THE COMPLETE WORKS 

OF 


JAMES FENIMORE COOPER 

MOHAWK 

EDITION 

VOLUMES SOLD 

SEPARATELY 

Bound in Cloth, Octavo, Gilt Top, Each . I1.25 

Uniform in general style with the Hudson Edition of Irving’s Works 

The Leather-Stocking Tales 

The Miscellaneous Works 

comprising : 

comprising : 

* The Deerslayer 

* The Spy 

* Last of the Mohicans 

Precaution 

*The Pathfinder 

Lionel Lincoln 

* The Pioneers 

Wyandotte 

*The Prairie 

Wept of Wish-ton-Wish 

The Sea Tales Comprising: 

The Bravo 

The Ways of the Hour 

* WiNG-AND-WiNG 

Mercedes of Castile 

* The Water Witch 

Homeward Bound 

* The Pilot 

Home as Found 

♦The Two Admirals 

The Red-Skins 

Miles Wallingford 

The Chain-Bearer 

Afloat and Ashore 

Oak Openings 

The Crater 

Satanstoe 

* Red Rover 

The Heidenmauer 

* The Sea-Lions 

The Monikins 

Jack Tier 

The Headsman 

* The volumes starred are now ready (April, 1896) 

G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS 

new YORK AND LONDON 




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THE ESCAPE OF RAOUL WARD FROM THE PROSERPINE.— PAGE 368 







flDobawF? Ebitiou 


THE WORKS 

OF 

James Fenimore Cooper 

»» 

THE WING-AND-WING 

OR 

LE FEU-FOLLET 



G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS 

NEW YORK LONDON 

27 WEST TWENTY-THIRD STREET 24 BEDFORD STREET, STRAND 

^mtkcrbocher |3rcss 
1896 


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PREFACE 



I T is difficult to say of which there is most in the world, 
a blind belief in religious dogmas, or a presumptuous 
and ignorant cavilling on revelation. The impression 
has gone abroad that France was an example of the 
last, during the height of her great revolutionary mania ; a 
charge that was scarcely true, as respects the nation, however 
just it might be in connection with her bolder and more un- 
quiet spirits. Most of the excesses of France, during that 
momentous period, were to be attributed to the agency of a 
few, the bulk of the nation having little to do with any part 
of them, beyond yielding their physical and pecuniary aid to 
an audacious and mystifying political combination. One of 
the baneful results, however, of these great errors of the times, 
was the letting loose of the audacious from all the venerable 
and healthful restraints of the church, to set them afloat on 
the sea of speculation and conceit. There is something so 
gratifying to human vanity in fancying ourselves superior 
to most around us, that we believe few young men attain 
their majority without imbibing more or less of the taint of 
unbelief, and passing through the mists of a vapid moral 
atmosphere, before they come to the clear, manly, and yet 
humble perceptions that teach most of us, in the end, our 
own insigniflcance, the great benevolence as well as wisdom 
of the scheme of redemption, and the philosophy of the 
Christian religion as well as its divinity. 

Perhaps the greatest stumbling-block of the young is a 
disposition not to yield to their belief unless it conforms to 
their own crude notions of propriety and reason. If the 



IV 


preface 


powers of man were equal to analyzing the nature of the 
Deity, to comprehending his being, and power, and motives, 
there would be some little show of sense in thus setting up 
the pretence of satisfying our judgments in all things, before 
we yield our credence to a religious system. But, the first 
step we take brings with it the instructive lesson of our 
incapacity, and teaches the wholesome lesson of humility. 
From arrogantly claiming a right to worship a deity we 
comprehend, we soon come to feel that the impenetrable 
veil that is cast around the Godhead is an indispensable 
condition of our faith, reverence, and submission. A being 
that can be comprehended is not a being to be worshipped. 

In this book, there is an attempt to set these conflicting 
tendencies in a full but amicable contrast to each other. We 
believe there is nothing in the design opposed to probability ; 
and it seems to us that the amiable tenderness of a confid- 
ing but j ust-viewing female heart might, under the circum- 
stances, be expected to manifest the mingled weakness and 
strength that it has here been our aim to portray. 

We acknowledge a strong paternal feeling in behalf of 
this book, placing it very high in the estimate of its merits, 
as compared with other books from the same pen : a spe- 
cies of commendation that need wound no man. Perhaps 
some knowledge of Italian character is necessary to enjoy the 
vice-governatore and the podesta ; 

but we confess they have given us, in reading over these 
pages for the first time since they were written, quite as much 
amusement as if they were altogether from an unknown hand. 

As for the Mediterranean, that unrivalled sea, its pictures 
always afford us delight. The hue of the water ; the de- 
licious and voluptuous calm ; the breathings of the storm 
from the Alps and Apennines ; the noble mountain-sides 
basking in the light of the region, or shrouded in mists that 
increase their grandeur ; the picturesque craft ; the islands, 
bays, rocks, volcanoes, and the thousand objects of art, con- 
tribute to render it the centre of all that is delightful and 
soothing to both the mind and the senses. 

The reader will recollect the painful history of Caraccioli. 
We have taken some liberties with his private history, ad- 


preface 


V 


mitting frankly that we have no other authority for them 
than that which we share in common with all writers 
of romance. The granddaughter we have given the un- 
fortunate admiral, is so much in accordance with Italian 
practices, that no wrong is done to the morale of Naples 
whatever may be the extent of the liberty taken with 
the individual. 

Nelson seems to have lived and died under the influence 
of the unprincipled woman who then governed him with the 
arts of a siren. His nature was noble, and his moral im- 
pressions, even, were not bad ; but his simple and confiding 
nature was not equal to contending with one as practised in 
profligacy as the woman into whose arms he was thrown, at 
a most evil moment for his reputation. 

There is nothing more repugnant to the general sense of 
right, than the prostitution of public justice to the purposes 
of private vengeance. Such would seem to have been the 
reason of the very general odium attached to the execution 
of Admiral Prince Caraccioli, who was the victim of cir- 
cumstances, rather than the promoter of treason. The whole 
transaction makes a melancholy episode in the history of 
modern Europe. We have made such use of it as is per- 
mitted to fiction, neither neglecting the leading and known 
facts of the event, nor adhering to the minuter circumstances 
more closely than the connection of our tale demanded. 



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WING-AND-WING. 


CHAPTER I. 

** Filled with, the face of heaven, which from afar 
Comes down upon the waters ; all its hues, 

From the rich sunset to the rising star. 

Their magical variety diffuse : 

And now they change : a paler shadow strews 
Its mantle o’er the mountains ; parting day 
Dies like the dolphin, whom each pang imbues 
With a new color as it gasps away. 

The last still loveliest, till — ’tis gone — and all is gray.’* 

Childe Harold. 

T he charms of the Tyrrhenian Sea have been sung 
since the days of Homer. That the Mediter- 
ranean generally, and its beautiful boundaries of 
Alps and Apennines, with its deeply indented 
and irregular shores, forms the most delightful region of 
the known earth, in all that relates to climate, productions, 
and physical formation, will be readily enough conceded by 
the traveller. The countries that border on this midland 
water — with their promontories buttressing a mimic ocean, 
their mountain-sides teeming with the picturesque of human 
life, their heights crowned with watch-towers, their rocky 
shelves consecrated by hermitages, and their unrivalled 
sheet dotted with sails, rigged, as it might be, expressly to 
produce effect in a picture — form a sort of world apart, that 
is replete with charms which not only fascinate the beholder, 
but which linger in the memories of the absent like visions 
of a glorious past. 


2 




Our present business is with this fragment of a creation 
that is so eminently beautiful, even in its worst aspects, but 
which is so often marred by the passions of man, in its best. 
While all admit how much nature has done for the Medi- 
terranean, none will deny that until quite recently it has 
been the scene of more ruthless violence, and of deeper 
personal wrongs, perhaps, than any other portion of the 
globe. With different races, more widely separated by 
destinies than even by origin, habits, and religion, occupy- 
ing its northern and southern shores, the outwork, as it 
might be, of Christianity and Mohammedanism, and of an 
antiquity that defies history, the bosom of this blue expanse 
has mirrored more violence, has witnessed more scenes of 
slaughter, and heard more shouts of victory, between the 
days of Agamemnon and Nelson, than all the rest of the 
dominions of Neptune together. Nature and the passions 
have united to render it like the human countenance, which 
conceals, by its smiles and godlike expression, the furnace 
that so oftens glows within the heart, and the volcano that 
consumes our happiness. For centuries the Turk and the 
Moor rendered it unsafe for the European to navigate these 
smiling coasts ; and when the barbarian’s power temporarily 
ceased, it was merely to give place to the struggles of those 
who drove him from the arena. 

The circumstances which rendered the period that oc- 
curred between the years 1790 and 1815 the most eventful 
of modem times are familiar to all ; though the incidents 
which checkered that memorable quarter of a century have 
already passed into history. All the elements of strife that 
then agitated the world appear now to have subsided as 
completely as if they owed their existence to a remote age ; 
and living men recall the events of their youth as they 
regard the recorded incidents of other centuries. Then, 
each month brought its defeat or its victory ; its account of a 
government overturned, or of a province conquered. The 
world was agitated like men in a tumult. On that epoch 
the timid look back with wonder ; the young, with doubt ; 
and the restless, with envy. 

The years 1798 and 1799 were two of the most memorable 


Mina==anD=MinG 


3 


of this ever-memorable period; and to that stirring and 
teeming season we must carry the mind of the reader, in 
order to place it in the midst of the scenes it is our object to 
portray. 

Towards the close of a fine day in the month of August, 
a light, fairy-like craft was fanning her way before a gentle 
westerly air, into what is called the Canal of Piombino, 
steering easterly. The rigs of the Mediterranean are prov- 
erbial for their picturesque beauty and quaintness, embrac- 
ing the xebec, the felucca, the polacre, and the bombarda, 
or ketch ; all unknown, or nearly so, to our own seas ; and 
occasionally the lugger. The latter, a species of craft, how- 
ever, much less common in the waters of Italy than in the 
Bay of Biscay and the British Channel, was the construc- 
tion of the vessel in question ; a circumstance that the 
mariners who eyed her from the shores of Elba deemed 
indicative of mischief. A three-masted lugger, that spread a 
wide breadth of canvas, with a low, dark hull, relieved by a 
single and almost imperceptible line of red beneath her 
channels, and a waist so deep that nothing was visible above 
it but the hat of some mariner taller than common, was 
considered a suspicious vessel ; and not even a fisherman 
would have ventured out within reach of a shot, so long as 
her character was unknown. Privateers, or corsairs, as it 
was the fashion to term them (and the name, with even its 
English signification, was often merited by their acts), not 
unfrequently glided down that coast ; and it was sometimes 
dangerous for those who belonged to friendly nations to meet 
them, in moments when the plunder, that a relic of barbar- 
ism still legalizes, had failed. 

The lugger was actually of about one hundred and eighty 
tons admeasurement, but her dark paint and low hull gave 
her an appearance of being much smaller than she really 
was ; still, the spread of her canvas, as she came down be- 
fore the wind, wing-and-wing as seamen term it, or with a 
sail fanning like the heavy pinions of a sea-fowl, on each 
side, betrayed her pursuits ; and, as has been intimated, the 
mariners on the shore, who watched her movements, shook 
their heads in distrust as they communed among themselves, 


4 




in very indifferent Italian, concerning her destination and 
object. This observation, with its accompanying discourse, 
occurred on the rocky bluff above the town of Porto Ferrajo, 
in the Island of Elba, a spot that has since become so re- 
nowned as the capital of the mimic dominion of Napoleon. 
Indeed, the very dwelling which was subsequently used 
by the fallen emperor as a palace, stood within a hundred 
yards of the speakers, looking out towards the entrance of 
the canal, and the mountains of Tuscany ; or rather of the 
little principality of Piombino, the system of merging the 
smaller in the larger states of Europe not having yet been 
brought into extensive operation. This house, a building 
of the size of a better sort of country residence of our own, 
was then, as now, occupied by the Florentine governor of the 
Tuscan portion of the island. It stands on the extremity 
of a low, rocky promontory that forms the western ramparts 
of the deep, extensive bay, on the side of which, ensconced 
behind a very convenient curvature of the rocks, which 
here incline westward in the form of a hook, lies the small 
port, completely concealed from the sea, as if in dread of 
visits like those which might be expected from craft resem- 
bling the suspicious stranger. This little port, not as large 
in itself as a modern dock in places like Eondon or Eiverpool, 
was sufficiently protected against any probable dangers, 
by suitable batteries ; and as for the elements, a vessel laid 
upon a shelf in a closet would be scarcely more secure. In 
this domestic little basin, which, with the exception of a 
narrow entrance, was completely surrounded by buildings, 
lay a few feluccas, that traded between the island and the 
adjacent main, and a solitary Austrian ship, which had 
come from the head of the Adriatic, in quest of iron. 

At the moment of which we are writing, however, but a 
dozen living beings were visible in or about all these craft. 
The intelligence that a strange lugger, resembling the one 
described, was in the offing, had drawn nearly all the 
mariners ashore ; and most of the habituis of the port had 
followed them up the broad steps of the crooked streets 
which led to the heights behind the town ; or to the rocky 
elevation that overlooks the sea from northeast to west. The 




5 


approach of the lugger produced some such effect on the 
mariners of this unsophisticated and little frequented port, 
as that of the hawk is known to excite among the timid ten- 
ants of the bam-yard. The rig of the stranger had been 
noted two hours before by one or two old coasters, who 
habitually passed their idle moments on the heights, exam- 
ining the signs of the weather, and indulging in gossip ; and 
their conjectures had drawn to the Porto Ferrajo mall some 
twenty men, who fancied themselves, or who actually were, 
cognoscenti in matters of the sea. When, however, the low, 
long, dark hull, which upheld such wide sheets of canvas, 
became fairly visible, the omens thickened, rumors spread, 
and hundreds collected on the spot, which, in Manhattanese 
parlance, would probably have been called a battery. Nor 
would the name have been altogether inappropriate, as a 
small battery was established there, and that, too, in a posi- 
tion which would easily throw a shot two thirds of a league, 
into the offing ; or about the distance that the stranger was 
now from the shore. 

Tommaso Tonti was the oldest mariner of Kibe, and 
luckily, being a sober, and usually a discreet man, he was 
the oracle of the island in most things that related to the sea. 
As each citizen, wine-dealer, grocer, innkeeper, or worker in 
iron, came up on the height, he incontinently inquired for 
Tonti, or ’Maso, as he was usually called; and getting the 
bearings and distance of the gray-headed old seaman, he 
invariably made his way to his side, until a group of some 
two hundred men, women, and children had clustered near 
the person of the pilota, as the faithful gather about a 
favorite expounder of the law, in moments of religious 
excitement. It is worthy of remark, too, with how much 
consideration this little crowd of gentle Italians treated their 
aged seaman, on this occasion ; none bawling out their ques- 
tions, and all using the greatest care not to get in front of 
his person lest they might intercept his means of observa- 
tion. Five or six old sailors, like himself, were close at 
his side : these, it is true, did not hesitate to speak as became 
their experience. But Tonti had obtained no small part of 
his reputation by exercising great moderation in delivering 


6 




his oracles, and perhaps by seeming to know more than he 
actually revealed. He was reserved, therefore, and while 
his brethren of the sea ventured on sundry conflicting 
opinions concerning the character of the stranger, and a 
hundred idle conjectures had flown from mouth to mouth, 
among the landsmen and females, not a syllable that could 
commit the old man escaped his lips. He let the others talk 
at will ; as for himself, it suited his habits, and possibly his 
doubts, to maintain a grave and portentous silence. 

We have spoken of females : as a matter of course, an 
event like this, in a town of some three or four thousand 
souls, would be likely to draw a due proportion of the gentler 
sex to the heights. Most of them contrived to get as near as 
possible to the aged seaman, in order to obtain the first intel- 
ligence, that it might be the sooner circulated ; but it would 
seem that among the younger of these there was also a sort 
of oracle of their own, about whose person gathered a dozen 
of the prettiest girls ; either anxious to hear what Ghita 
might have to say in the premises, or, perhaps, influenced 
by the pride and modesty of their sex and condition, which 
taught them to maintain a little more reserve than was 
necessary to the less refined portion of their companions. 
In speaking of condition, however, the word must be under- 
stood with an exceedingly limited meaning. Porto Ferrajo 
had but two classes of society, the tradespeople and the 
laborers ; although there were, perhaps, a dozen exceptions 
in the persons of a few humble functionaries of the govern- 
ment, an awocato, a medico, and a few priests. The gov- 
ernor of the island was a Tuscan of rank, but he seldom 
honored the place with his presence ; and his deputy was a 
professional man, a native of the town, whose original posi- 
tion was too well known to allow him to give himself airs on 
the spot where he was born. Chita’s companions, then, 
were daughters of shopkeepers, and persons of that class, 
who, having been taught to read, and occasionally going to 
Leghorn, besides being admitted by the deputy to the pres- 
ence of his housekeeper, had got to regard themselves as a 
little elevated above the more vulgar curiosity of the less 
cultivated girls of the port. Ghita herself, however, owed 




7 


her ascendency to her qualities, rather than to the adventi- 
tious advantage of being a grocer’s or an innkeeper’s daugh- 
ter, her origin being unknown to most of those around her, as 
indeed was her family name. She had been landed six 
weeks before, and left, by one who passed for her father, at 
the inn of Christoforo Dovi, as a boarder, and had acquired 
all her influence, as so many reach notoriety in our own 
simple society, by the distinction of having travelled ; aided, 
somewhat, by her strong sense, great decision of character, 
perfect modesty and propriety of deportment, with a form 
which was singularly graceful and feminine, and a face 
that, while it could scarcely be called beautiful, was in the 
highest degree winning and attractive. No one thought of 
asking her family name ; and she never appeared to deem 
it necessary to mention it. Ghita was sufficient ; it was 
familiar to every one ; and although there were two or three 
others of the same appellation in Porto Ferrajo, this, by 
common consent, got to be the Ghita, within a week after 
she had landed. 

Ghita, it was known, had travelled, for she had publicly 
reached Elba in a felucca, coming, as was said, from the 
Neapolitan states. If this were true, she was probably the 
only person of her sex in the town who had ever seen Vesu- 
vius, or planted her eyes on the wonders of a part of Italy 
that has a reputation second only to that of Rome. Of 
comrse, if any girl in Porto Ferrajo could imagine thecharac- 
acter of the stranger, it must be Ghita ; and it was on this 
supposition that she had unwittingly, and, if the truth must 
be owned, unwillingly, collected around her a clientelle of at 
least a dozen girls of her own age, and apparently of her own 
class. The latter, however, felt no necessity for the reserve 
maintained by the curious who pressed near ’Maso ; for, 
while they respected their guest and friend, and would 
rather listen to her surmises than to those of any other 
person, they had such a prompting desire to hear their own 
voices, that not a minute escaped without a question, or a 
conjecture, both volubly and quite audibly expressed. The 
inteijections, too, were somewhat numerous, as the guesses 
were crude and absurd. One said it was a vessel with des- 


8 


TKIltngs=ant)s=Mina 


patches from I^ivorao, possibly with “His Kccellenza” on 
board ; but she was reminded that I^eghorn lay to the north, 
and not to the west. Another thought it was a cargo of 
priests, going from Corsica to Rome ; but she was told that 
priests were not in sufficient favor just then in France, to get 
a vessel so obviously superior to the ordinary craft of the 
Mediterranean to carry them about. While a third, more 
imaginative than either, ventured to doubt whether it was a 
vessel at all ; deceptive appearances of this sort not being of 
rare occurrence, and usually taking the aspect of something 
out of the ordinary way. 

“ said Annina, “ but that would be a miracle, Maria ; 
and why should we have a miracle, now that Fent and most 
of the holidays are past ? / believe it is a real vessel. ’ ’ 

The others laughed, and, after a good deal of eager chat- 
tering on the subject, it was quite generally admitted that 
the stranger was a bond, fide craft of some species or another, 
though all agreed she was not a felucca, a bombarda, or a 
sparanara. All this time Ghita was thoughtful and silent ; 
quite as much so, indeed, as Tommaso himself, though from 
a very different motive. Notwithstanding all the gossip, and 
the many ludicrous opinions of her companions, her eyes 
scarcely turned an instant from the lugger, on which they 
seemed to be riveted by a sort of fascination. Had there been 
one there sufficiently unoccupied to observe this interesting 
girl, he might have been struck with the varying expression 
of a countenance that was teeming with sensibility, and 
which too often reflected the passing emotions of its mistress’s 
mind. Now an expression of anxiety, and even of alarm, 
would have been detected by such an observer, if acute 
enough to separate these emotions, in the liveliness of senti- 
ment, from the more vulgar feelings of her companions ; and 
now, something like gleamings of delight and happiness 
flashed across her eloquent countenance. The color came 
and went often ; and there was an instant, during which the 
lugger varied her course, hauling to the wind, and then fall- 
ing off again, like a dolphin at its sports, when the radiance 
of the pleasure that glowed about her soft blue eyes ren- 
dered the girl perfectly beautiful. But none of these passing 




9 


expressions were noticed by the garrulous group around the 
stranger female, who was left very much to the indulgence 
of the impulses that gave them birth, unquestioned, and 
altogether unsuspected. 

Although the cluster of girls had, with feminine sensitive- 
ness, gathered a little apart from the general crowd, there 
were but a few yards between the spot where it stood, and 
that occupied by ’ Maso ; so that when the latter spoke, an 
attentive listener among the former might hear his words. 
This was an office that Tonti did not choose to undertake, 
however, until he was questioned by the podest^, Vito Viti, 
who now appeared on the hill in person, puffing like a whale 
that rises to breathe, from the vigor of his ascent. 

‘ ‘ What dost thou make of her, good ’ Maso ? ’ ’ demanded 
the magistrate, after he had examined the stranger himself 
some time in silence, feeling authorized, in virtue of his 
office, to question whom he pleased. 

‘ ‘ Signore, it is a lugger, ’ ’ was the brief, and certainly the 
accurate reply. 

“ Ay, a lugger ; we all understand that, neighbor Tonti ; 
but what sort of a lugger ? There are felucca-luggers, and 
polacre-luggers, and bombarda-luggers, and all sorts of lug- 
gers ; which sort of lugger is this ? ” 

‘ ‘ Signor Podesffi, this is not the language of the port. We 
call a felucca, a felucca ; a bombarda, a bombarda ; a polacre, 
a polacre ; and a lugger, a lugger. This is therefore a lugger. ’ ’ 

’ Maso spoke authoritatively, for he felt that he was now 
not out of his depth, and it was grateful to him to let the 
public know how much better he understood all these mat- 
ters than a magistrate. On the other hand, the podest^ was 
nettled, and disappointed into the bargain, for he really im- 
agined he was drawing nice distinctions, much as it was his 
wont to do in legal proceedings ; and it was his ambition to 
be thought to know something of everything. 

“Well, Tonti,” answered Signor Viti, in a protecting 
manner, and with an affable smile, ‘ ‘ as this is not an affair 
that is likely to go to the higher courts at Florence, your 
explanations may be taken as sufficient, and I have no wish 
to disturb them — a lugger is a lugger.” 


lO 




“Si, Signore ; that is just what we say in the port. A 
lugger is a lugger.” 

“ And yonder strange craft you maintain, and at need are 
ready to swear, is a lugger ? ” 

Now ’Maso seeing no necessity for any oath in the affair 
and being always somewhat conscientious in such matters, 
whenever the custom-house officers did not hold the book, 
was a little startled at the suggestion, and he took another 
and a long look at the stranger before he answered. 

“Si, Signore,” he replied, after satisfying his mind once 
more, through his eyes, “ I will swear that the stranger yon- 
der is a lugger.” 

“And canst thou add, honest Tonti, of what nation? 
The nation is of as much moment in these troubled times, 
as the rig. ’ ’ 

“You say truly. Signor Podesta ; for if an Algerine, or a 
Moor, or even a Frenchman, he will be an unwelcome visi- 
tor in the Canal of Elba. There are many different signs 
about him, that sometimes make me think he belongs to one 
people, and then to another ; and I crave your pardon if I 
ask a little leisure to let him draw nearer, before I give a 
positive opinion.” 

As this request was reasonable, no objection was raised. 
The podesta turned aside and observing Ghita, who had 
visited his niece, and of whose intelligence he entertained a 
favorable opinion, he drew nearer to the girl, determined to 
lose a moment in dignified trifling. 

“Honest ’Maso, poor fellow, is sadly puzzled,” he ob- 
served, smiling benevolently, as if in pity for the pilot’s em- 
barrassment ; “he wishes to persuade us that the strange 
craft yonder is a lugger, though he cannot himself say to 
what country she belongs ! ’ ’ 

“It is a lugger. Signore,” returned the girl, drawing a 
long breath, as if relieved by hearing the sound of her own 
voice. 

“ How ! dost thou pretend to be so skilled in vessels as to 
distinguish these particulars at the distance of a league?” 

“ I do not think it a league. Signore — not more than half a 
league ; and the distance lessens fast, though the wind is so 


MtnG==aub-Mino 


II 


light. As for knowing a lugger from a felucca, it is as easy 
as to know a house from a church, or one of the reverend 
padri, in the streets, from a mariner.” 

“Ay, so I would have told ’Maso on the spot, had the 
obstinate old fellow been inclined to hear me. The distance 
is just about what you say ; and nothing is easier than to 
see that the stranger is a lugger. As to the nation ? ’ ’ 

“That may not be so easily told. Signore, unless the 
vessel shows us her flag.” 

“ By San Antonio ! thou art right, child ; and it is fitting 
she should show us her flag." Nothing has a right to ap- 
proach so near the port of his Imperial and Royal Highness, 
that does not show its flag, thereby declaring its honest pur- 
pose and its nation. My friends, are the guns in the battery 
loaded as usual?” 

The answer being in the afiirmative, there was a hurried 
consultation among some of the principal men in the crowd, 
and then the podest^ walked towards the government-house 
with an important air. In five minutes, soldiers were seen 
in the batteries, and preparations were made for levelling an 
eighteen-pounder in the direction of the stranger. Most of 
the females turned aside, and stopped their ears, the battery 
being within a hundred yards of the spot where they stood ; 
but Ghita, with face that was pale certainly, though with an 
eye that was steady, and without the least indications of fear, 
as respected herself, intensely watched every movement. 
When it was e\ddent the artillerists were about to fire, 
anxiety induced her to break silence. 

‘ ‘ They surely will not aim at the lugger ! ” she exclaimed. 
“That cannot be necessary. Signor Podest^, to make the 
stranger hoist his flag. Never have I seen that done in the 
south.” 

“You are unacquainted with our Tuscan bombardiers, 
Signorina,” answered the magistrate, with a bland smile, 
and exulting gesture. “It is well for Europe that the 
grand duchy is so small, since such troops might prove even 
more troublesome than the French ! ” 

Ghita, however, paid no attention to this touch of provin- 
cial pride, but pressing her hands on her heart, she stood 


12 




like a statue of suspense, while the men in the battery ex- 
ecuted their duty. In a minute the match was applied, and 
the gun was discharged. Though all her companions 
uttered invocations to the saints, and other exclamations, and 
some even crouched to the earth in terror, Ghita, the most 
delicate of any in appearance, and with more real sen- 
sibility than all united expressed in her face, stood firm and 
erect. The flash and the explosion evidently had no effect on 
her; not an artillerist among them was less unmoved in 
frame, at the report, than this slight girl. She even imi- 
tated the manner of the soldiers, by turning to watch the 
flight of the shot, though she clasped her hands as she did 
so, and appeared to await the result with trembling. The 
few seconds of suspense were soon past, when the ball was 
seen to strike the water fully a quarter of a mile astern of 
the lugger, and to skip along the placid sea for twice that 
distance farther, when it sank to the bottom by its own 
gravity. 

“Santa Maria be praised!” murmured the girl, a smile 
half pleasure, half irony, lighting her face, as unconsciously 
to herself she spoke, ‘ ‘ these Tuscan artillerists are no fatal 
marksman ! ’ ’ 

“That was most dexterously done, bella Ghita!” ex- 
claimed the magistrate, removing his two hands from his 
ears ; “ that was amazingly well aimed ! Another such shot 
as far ahead, with a third fairly between the two, and the 
stranger will learn to respect the rights of Tuscany. What 
say’ St thou now, honest ’Maso ; will this lugger tell us her 
country, or will she further brave our power ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ If wise, she will hoist her ensign ; and yet I see no signs 
of preparation for such an act.” 

Sure enough, the stranger, though quite within effective 
range of shot from the heights, showed no disposition to 
gratify the curiosity, or to appease the apprehensions of those 
in the town. Two or three of her people were visible in her 
bu.t even these did not hasten their work, or in any 
manner seem deranged at the salutation they had just re- 
ceived. After a few minutes, however, the lugger jibed her 
mainsail, and then hauled up a little, so as to look more 




13 


towards the headland, as if disposed to steer for the bay, by 
doubling the promontory. This movement caused the artil- 
lerists to suspend their own, and the lugger had fairly come 
within a mile of the cliffs, ere she lazily turned aside again 
and shaped her course once more in the direction of the en- 
trance of the canal. This drew another shot, which effect- 
ually justified the magistrate’s eulogy, for it certainly flew 
as much ahead of the stranger, as the first had flown astern. 

“ There, Signore,” cried Ghita, eagerly, as she turned to 
the magistrate, “they are about to hoist their ensign, for 
now they know your wishes. The soldiers surely will not 
fire again ! ’ ’ 

“That would be in the teeth of the law of nations, 
Signorina, and a blot on Tuscan civilization. Ah ! you per- 
ceive the artillerists are aware of what you say, and are 
putting aside their tools. Cospetto ! ’tis a thousand pities, 
too, they couldn’t fire the third shot, that you might see it 
strike the lugger ; as yet you have only beheld their prep- 
arations. ’ ’ 

“ It is enough. Signor Podest^,” returned Ghita, smiling, 
for she could smile now that she saw the soldiers intended no 
further mischief ; “we have all heard of your Klba gunners, 
and what I have seen convinces me of what they can do, 
when there is occasion. Took, Signore ! the lugger is about 
to satisfy our curiosity.” 

Sure enough, the stranger saw fit to comply with the 
usages of nations. It has been said, already, that the lug- 
ger was coming down before the wind wing-and-wing, or 
with a sail expanded to the air on each side of her hull, a 
disposition of the canvas that gives to the felucca, and to the 
lugger in particular, the most picturesque of all their grace- 
ful attitudes. Unlike the narrow-headed sails that a want 
of hands has introduced among ourselves, these foreign, we 
might almost say classical mariners, send forth their long 
pointed yards aloft, confining the width below by the neces- 
sary limits of the sheet, making up for the difference in ele- 
vation, by the greater breadth of their canvas. The idea of 
the felucca’s sails, in particular, would seem to have been 
literally taken from the wing of the large sea-fowl, the shape 


14 




so nearly corresponding, that, with the canvas spread in the 
manner just mentioned, one of those light craft has a very 
close resemblance to the gull or the hawk, as it poises itself 
in the air or is sweeping down upon its prey. The lugger 
has less of the beauty that adorns a picture, perhaps, than 
the strictly lateen rig; but it approaches so near it as to 
be always pleasing to the eye, and, in the particular evo- 
lution described, is scarcely less attractive. To the seaman, 
however, it brings with it an air of greater service, being a 
mode of carrying canvas that will buffet with the heaviest 
gales or the roughest seas, while it appears so pleasant to the 
eye in the blandest airs and smoothest water. 

The lugger that was now beneath the heights of Elba had 
three masts, though sails were spread only on the two that 
were forward. The third mast was stepped on the taffrail ; 
it was small, and carried a little sail, that, in English, is 
termed a jigger, its principal use being to press the bows of 
the craft up to the wind, when close-hauled, and render her 
what is termed weatherly. On the present occasion, there 
could scarcely be said to be anything deserving the name of 
wind, though Ghita felt her cheek, which was warmed with 
the rich blood of her country, fanned by an air so gentle, 
that occasionally it blew aside tresses that seemed to vie 
with the floss silk of her native land. Had the natural ring- 
lets been less light, however, so gentle a respiration of the 
sea air could scarcely have disturbed them. But the lugger 
had her lightest duck spread, reserving the heavier canvas 
for the storms, and it opened like the folds of a balloon, 
even before these gentle impulses ; occasionally collapsing, 
it is true, as the ground-swell swung the yards to and fro, 
but, on the whole, standing out and receiving the air, as if 
guided more by volition than any mechanical power. The 
effect on the hull was almost magical ; for, notwithstanding 
the nearly imperceptible force of the propelling power, owing 
to the lightness and exquisite mould of the craft, it served 
to urge her through the water at the rate of some three or 
four knots in the hour ; or quite as fast as an ordinarily 
active man is apt to walk. Her motion was nearly un- 
observable to all on board, and might rather be termed glid- 


Mtna:=anb==Mtna 


15 


ing than sailing, the ripple under her cut-water not much 
exceeding that which is made by the finger as it is moved 
swiftly through the element ; still, the slightest variation of 
the helm changed her course, and this so easily and grace- 
fully, as to render her deviation and inclinations like those 
of the duck. In her present situation, too, the jigger, which 
was brailed, and hung festooned from its light yard, ready 
for use, should occasion suddenly demand it, added singularly 
to the smart air which everything wore about this craft, giv- 
ing her, in the seaman’s eyes, that particularly knowing and 
suspicious look which had awakened ’Maso’s distrust. 

The preparations to show the ensign, which caught the 
quick and understanding glance of Ghita, and which had 
not escaped even the duller vision of the artillerists, were 
made at the outer end of this jigger-yard. A boy appeared 
on the taffrail, and he was evidently clearing the ensign- 
halyards for that purpose. In half a minute, however, he 
disappeared ; then a flag rose steadily, and by a continued 
pull, to its station. At first the bunting hung suspended in 
a line, so as to evade all examination ; but, as if everything 
on board this light craft were on a scale as airy and buoyant 
as herself, the folds soon expanded, showing a white field, 
traversed at right angles with a red cross, and having a 
union of the same tint in its upper and inner corner. 

“ Inglese ” exclaimed ’Maso, infinitely aided in this con- 
jecture by the sight of the stranger’s ensign ; “Si, Signore, 
it is an Englishman ; I thought so from the first, but as the 
lugger is not a common rig for vessels of that nation, I did 
not like to risk anything by saying it.” 

“Well, honest Tommaso, it is a happiness to have a mar- 
iner as skilful as yourself, in these troublesome times, at 
one’s elbow ! I do not know how else we should ever have 
found out the stranger’s country. An Inglese ! Corpo di 
Bacco ! Who would have thought that a nation so maritime, 
and which lies so far off, would send so small a craft this vast 
distance ! Why, Ghita, it is a voyage from Elba to Eivomo, 
and yet, I dare say, England is twenty times further.” 

“Signore, I know little of England, but I have heard that 
it lies beyond our own sea. This is the flag of the country, 


i6 




however ; for that have I often beheld. Many ships of that 
nation come upon the coast, farther south.” 

“Yes, it is a great country for mariners ; though they tell 
me it has neither wine nor oil. They are allies of the em- 
peror, too; and deadly enemies of the French, who have 
done so much harm in upper Italy. That is something, 
Ghita, and every Italian should honor the flag. I fear the 
stranger does not intend to enter our harbor ! ” 

“ He steers as if he did not, certainly. Signor Podestd,” 
said Ghita, sighing so gently that the respiration was audi- 
ble only to herself. ‘ ‘ Perhaps he is in search of some of 
the French, of which they say so many were seen, last year, 
going east.” 

“Ay, that was truly an enterprise ! ” answered the mag- 
istrate, gesticulating on a large scale, and opening his eyes 
by way of accompaniments. ‘ ‘ General Bonaparte, he who 
had been playing the devil in the Milanese and the states of 
the Pope, for the last two years, sailed, they sent us word, 
with two or three hundred ships, the saints, at first, knew 
whither. Some said it was to destroy the Holy Sepulchre ; 
some to overturn the Grand Turk ; and some thought to 
seize the islands. There was a craft in here, the same week, 
which said he had got possession of the Island of Malta ; in 
which case we might look out for trouble in Elba. I had 
my suspicions, from the first ! ’ ’ 

“All this I heard at the time. Signore, and my uncle 
probably could tell you more — how we all felt at the tid- 
ings ! ’ ’ 

“ Well, that is all over now, and the French are in Egypt. 
Your uncle, Ghita, has gone upon the main, I hear?” this 
was said inquiringly, and it was intended to be said care- 
lessly ; but the podestd could not prevent a glance of sus- 
picion from accompanying the question. 

“Signore, I believe he has; but I know little of his 
affairs. The time has come, however, when I ought to expect 
him. See, Eccellenza,” a title that never failed to mollify 
the magistrate, and turn his attention from others entirely 
to himself, ‘ ‘ the lugger really appears disposed to look into 
your bay, if not actually to enter it ! ” 


TP(IlinQ=anb:*Mina 


17 


This sufficed to change the discourse. Nor was it said 
altogether without reason ; the lugger, which by this time 
had passed the western promontory, actually appearing dis- 
posed to do as Ghita conjectured. She jibed her mainsail, 
brought both sheets of canvas on her larboard side, and luffed 
a little, so as to cause her head to look towards the opposite 
side of the bay, instead of standing on, as before, in the 
direction of the canal. This change in the lugger’s course 
produced a general movement in the crowd, which began 
to quit the heights, hastening to descend the terraced 
streets, in order to reach the haven. ’Maso and the po- 
destd led the van in this descent ; and the girls, with Ghita 
in their midst, followed with equal curiosity, but with eager 
steps. By the time the throng was assembled on the quays, 
in the streets, on the decks of feluccas, or at the other points 
that commanded the view, the stranger was seen gliding 
past, in the centre of the wide and deep bay, with his jigger 
hauled out, and his sheets aft, looking up nearly into the 
wind’s eye, if that could be called wind, which was still 
little more than the sighing of the classical zephyr. His 
motion was necessarily slow, but it continued light, easy, 
and graceful. After passing the entrance of the port a mile 
or more, he tacked and looked up towards the haven. By 
this time, however, he had got so near in to the western 
cliffs, that their lee deprived him of all air ; and after keep- 
ing his canvas open half an hour in the little roads, it was 
all suddenly drawn to the yards, and the lugger anchored. 

2 




CHAPTER II. 

** His stock, a few Prencb phrases, got by heart, 

With much to learn, but nothing to impart ; 

The youth, obedient to his sire’s commands. 

Sets off a wanderer into foreign lands.’* 

COWPER. 

I T was now nearly dark, and the crowd, having satisfied 
its idle curiosity, began slowly to disperse. The Signor 
Viti remained till the la.st, conceiving it to be his duty 
to be on the alert, in such troubled times ; but with 
all his bustling activity, it escaped his vigilance and means 
of observation to detect the circumstance that the stranger, 
while he steered into the bay with so much confidence, had 
contrived to bring up at a point where not a single gun from 
the batteries could be brought to bear on him ; while his 
own shot, had he been disposed to hostilities, would have 
completely raked the little haven. But Vito Viti, though 
so enthusiastic an admirer of the art, was no gunner him- 
self, and little liked to dwell on the effect of shot, except as 
it applied to others, and not at all to himself. 

Of all the suspicious, apprehensive, and curious, who had 
been collected in and about the port, since it was known the 
lugger intended to come into the bay, Ghita and ’Maso 
alone remained on watch, after the vessel was anchored. 
A loud hail had been given by those intrusted with the 
execution of the quarantine laws, the great physical bug- 
bear and moral mystification of the Mediterranean ; and 
the questions put had been answered in a way to satisfy all 
scruples for the moment. The “ From whence came ye?” 
asked, however, in an Italian idiom, had been answered by 
“ Inghilterra, touching at Eisbon and Gibraltar,” all regions 

i8 




19 


beyond distrust, as to the plague, and all happening, at that 
moment, to give clean bills of health. But the name of the 
craft herself had been given in a way to puzzle all the pro- 
ficients in Saxon English that Porto Ferrajo could produce. 
It had been distinctly enough pronounced by some one on 
board, and, at the request of the quarantine department, 
had been three times slowly repeated, very much after the 
following form, namely : — 

“ Come chiamate il vostro bastimento f 
“ The Wing-and-Wing.’* 

^'Comef^^ 

The Wing-and-Wing.” 

A long pause, during which the officials put their heads 
together, first to compare the sounds of each with those of 
his companions’ ears, and then to inquire of one who pro- 
fessed to understand English, but whose knowledge was 
such as is generally met with in a linguist of a little-fre- 
quented port, the meaning of the term. 

‘ ‘ Ving-y-Ving ! ’ ’ growled this functionary, not a little 
puzzled ; ‘ ‘ what ze devil sort of name is zat ! Ask zem 
again.” 

‘ ‘ Come si chiama la vostra barca^ Signori Inglesi f ’ ’ re- 
peated he who hailed. 

Diable ! growled one back, in French, “she is called 
ze Wing-and-Wing , — ^ Ala-e-Ala' giving a very literal 
translation of the name, in Italian. 

“ Ala-e-Ala ” repeated they of the quarantine, first look- 
ing at each other in surprise, and then laughing, though in 
a perplexed and doubtful manner ; “ Ving-y-Ving ! ” 

This passed just as the lugger anchored and the crowd 
had begun to disperse. It caused some merriment, and it 
was soon spread in the little town that a craft had just 
arrived from Inghilterra, whose name, in the dialect of that 
island, was “Ving-y-Ving,” which meant '' Ala-e- Ala,'' in 
Italian ; a cognomen that struck the listeners as sufficiently 
absurd. In confirmation of the fact, however, the lugger 
hoisted a small square flag, at the end of her main-yard, on 
which were painted, or wrought, two large wings, as they 
are sometimes delineated in heraldry, with the beak of a 


20 


TKIlings=anbs=Ximtna 


galley between them ; giving the whole conceit something 
very like the appearance that the htunan imagination has 
assigned to those heavenly beings, cherubs. This emblem 
seemed to satisfy the minds of the observers, who were too 
much accustomed to the images of art not to obtain some 
tolerably distinct notions, in the end, of what Ala-e- Ala' ' 
meant. 

But ’ Maso, as has been said, remained after the rest had 
departed to their homes and their suppers, as did Ghita. 
The pilot, for such was Tonti’s usual appellation, in conse- 
quence of his familiarity with the coast, and his being prin- 
cipally employed to direct the navigation of the different 
craft in which he served, kept his station on board a felucca 
to which he belonged, watching the movements of the lug- 
ger ; while the girl had taken her stand on the quay, in a 
position that better became her sex, since it removed her 
from immediate contact with the rough spirits of the port, 
while it enabled her to see what occurred about the Wing- 
and-Wing. More than half an hour elapsed, however, 
before there were any signs of an intention to land ; but, by 
the time it was dark, a boat was ready, and it was seen mak- 
ing its way to the common stairs, where one or two of the 
regular officials were ready to receive it. 

It is unnecessary to dwell on the forms of the pratique 
officers. These troublesome persons had their lanterns, and 
were vigilant in examining papers, as is customary ; but it 
would seem the mariner in the boat had everything en rtgle, 
for he was soon suffered to land. At this instant, Ghita 
passed near the group, and took a close and keen survey of 
the stranger’s form and face, her own person being so en- 
veloped in a mantle as to render a recognition of it difficult, 
if not impossible. The girl seemed satisfied with this scru- 
tiny, for she immediately disappeared. Not so with ’Maso, 
who by this time had hurried round from the felucca, and 
was at the stairs in season to say a word to the stranger. 

“Signore,” said the pilot, “his Bccellenza, the podest^, 
has bidden me to say to you, that he expects the honor of 
your company at his house, which stands so near us, hard 
by here, in the principal street, as will make it only a 


XRIling»atiti=MinQ 


21 


pleasure to go there ; I know he would be disappointed, if 
he failed of the happiness of seeing you. ’ ’ 

“His Kccellenza is a man not to be disappointed,” re- 
turned the stranger, in very good Italian, ‘ ‘ and five minutes 
shall prove to him how eager I am to salute him; ” then 
turning to the crew of his boat, he ordered them to return 
on board the lugger, and not to fail to look out for the signal 
by which he might call them ashore. 

’Maso, as he led the way to the dwelling of Vito Viti, 
would fain ask a few questions, in the hope of appeasing 
certain doubts that beset him. 

“Since when. Signor Capitano,” he inquired, “have you 
English taken to sailing luggers ? It is a novel rig for one 
of your craft. ’ ’ 

Corpo di Bacco ! ’ ’ answered the other, laughing, 

‘ ‘ friend of mine, if you can tell the precise day when 
brandy and laces were first smuggled from France into my 
country, I will answer your question. I think you have 
never navigated as far north as the Bay of Biscay and our 
English Channel, or you would know that a Guernsey man 
is better acquainted with the rig of a lugger than with that 
of a ship.” 

‘ ‘ Guernsey is a country I never heard of, ’ ’ answered 
’Maso, simply ; “ is it like Holland — or more like Eisbon ? ” 
“Very little of either. Guernsey is a country that was 
once French, and where many of the people still speak the 
French language, but of which the English have been mas- 
ters this many an age. It is an island subject to King 
George, but which is still half Gallic in names and usages. 
This is the reason why we like the lugger better than the 
cutter, which is a more English rig.” 

’ Maso was silent, for, if true, the answer at once removed 
many misgivings. He had seen so much about the strange 
craft which struck him as French, that doubts of her char- 
acter obtruded ; but, if her captain’s account could only be 
substantiated, there was an end of distrust. What could be 
more natural than the circumstance that a vessel fitted out 
on an island of French origin, should betray some of the 
peculiarities of the people who built her ? 


22 




The podest^ was at home, in expectation of this visit, and 
’Maso was first admitted to a private conference, leaving the 
stranger in an outer room. During this brief conference, 
the pilot communicated all he had to say, both his suspicions 
and the seeming solution of the difficulties, and then he 
took his leave, after receiving the boon of a paul. Vito Viti 
now joined his guest, but it was so dark, lights not having 
yet been introduced, that neither could distinguish the 
other’s countenance. 

“Signor Capitano,” observed the magistrate, “ the deputy- 
governor is at his residence, on the hill, and he will expect 
me to do him the favor to bring you thither, that he may 
do you the honors of the port. ’ ’ 

This was said so civilly, and was, in itself, both so rea- 
sonable and so much in conformity with usage, that the other 
had not a word to say against it. Together, then, they left 
the house, and proceeded towards the government-dwelling, 
a building which has since become celebrated as having 
been the residence of a soldier who came so near subjugat- 
ing Europe. Vito Viti was a short, pursy man, and he 
took his time to ascend the stairs-resembling street ; but his 
companion stepped from terrace to terrace with an ease and 
activity that, of themselves, would have declared him to be 
young, had not this been made apparent by his general 
bearing and his mien, as seen through the obscurity. 

Andrea Barrofaldi, the vice-governatore, was a very dif- 
ferent sort of person from his friend the podest^. Although 
little more acquainted with the world, by practice, the vice- 
governatore was deeply read in books ; owing his situation, 
in short, to the circumstance of his having written several 
clever works, of no great reputation, certainly, for genius, 
but which were useful in their way, and manifested schol- 
arship. It is very seldom that a man of mere letters is 
qualified for public life ; and yet there is an affectation in 
all governments, most especially in those which care little 
for literature in general, of considering some professions of 
respect for it necessary to their own characters. Andrea 
Barrofaldi had been inducted into his present office without 
even the sentimental profession of never having asked for it. 




23 


The situation had been given to him by the Fossombrone 
of his day, without a word having been said in the journals 
of Tuscany of his doubts about accepting it, and everything 
passed, as things are apt to pass when there are true sim- 
plicity and good faith at the bottom, without pretension or 
comment. He had now been ten years in office, and had 
got to be exceedingly expert in discharging all the ordinary 
functions of his post, which he certainly did with zeal and 
fidelity. Still, he did not desert his beloved books, and, 
quite apropos of the matter about to come before him, the 
Signor Barrofaldi had just finished a severe, profound, and 
extensive course of study in geography. 

The stranger was left in the ante-chamber, while Vito 
Viti entered an inner room, and had a short communication 
with his friend, the vice-governatore. As soon as this was 
ended, the former returned, and ushered his companion into 
the presence of the substitute for the grand duke. As this 
was the sailor’s first appearance within the influence of a 
light sufficiently strong to enable the podesta to examine 
his person, both he and Andrea Barrofaldi turned their 
eyes on him with lively cruriosity, the instant the rays of a 
strong lamp enabled them to scrutinize his appearance. 
Neither was disappointed, in one sense, at least ; the coun- 
tenance, figure, and mien of the mariner much more than 
equalling his expectations. 

The stranger was a man of six-and-twenty, who stood 
five feet ten in his stockings, and whose frame was the very 
figure of activity, united to a muscle that gave very fair 
indications of strength. He was attired in an undress naval 
uniform, which he wore with a smart air, that one who 
understood these matters, more by means of experience, and 
less by means of books, than Andrea Barrofaldi, would at 
once have detected did not belong to the manly simplicity 
of the English wardrobe. Nor were his features in the 
slightest degree those of one of the islanders, the outline 
being beautifully classical, more especially about the mouth 
and chin, while the cheeks were colorless, and the skin 
swarthy. His eye, too, was black as jet, and his cheek was 
half covered in whiskers of a hue dark as the raven’s wing. 


24 


XKIlin9:*anb:=*Mfna 


His face, as a whole, was singularly beautiful ; for hand- 
some is a word not strong enough to express all the char- 
acter that was conveyed by a conformation that might be 
supposed to have been copied from some antique medal, 
more especially when illuminated by a smile that, at times, 
rendered the whole countenance almost as bewitching as 
that of a lovely woman. There was nothing effeminate in 
the appearance of the young stranger, notwithstanding ; his 
manly, though sweet voice, well-knit frame, and firm look, 
affording every pledge of resolution and spirit. 

Both the vice-governatore and the podest^ were struck 
with the unusual personal advantages and smart air of the 
stranger, and each stood looking at him half a minute in 
silence, after the usual salutations had passed, and before 
the party were seated. Then, as the three took chairs, on 
a motion from Signor Barrofaldi, the latter opened the 
discourse. 

“They tell me that we have the honor to receive into 
our little haven a vessel of Inghilterra, Signor Capitano,” 
observed the vice-govematore, earnestly regarding the other 
through his spectacles as he spoke, and that, too, in a 
manner not altogether free from distrust. 

“ Signor Vice-govematore, such is the flag under which 
I have the honor to serve,” returned the mariner. 

“You are an Inglese, yourself, I trust, Signor Capitano ; 
what name shall I enter in my book, here ? ’ ’ 

“Jaques Smeet,” answered the other, betraying what 
might have proved two very fatal Shibboleths, in the ears 
of those who were practised in the finesse of our very 
unmusical language, by attempting to say “Jack Smith.” 

“Jaques Smeet,” repeated the vice-governatore; “that 
is, Giacomo, in our Italian — ” 

“No — no. Signore,” hastily interrupted Captain Smeet, 
“not Jaqueomo, but Jaques — Giovanni turned into Jaques 
by the aid of a little salt water. ’ ’ 

“Ah! I begin to understand you. Signore; you Eng- 
lish have this usage in your language, though you have 
softened the word a little, in mercy to our ears. But we 
Italians are not afraid of such sounds; and I know the 




25 


name — ‘ Giac Smeet ’ — II Capitano Giac Smeet ; I have 
long suspected my Bnglish master of ignorance, for he was 
merely one of our Beghoni pilots who has sailed in a 
bastimento de guerra of your country ; he called your 
honorable name ‘Smees,’ Signore.” 

He was very wrong, Signor Vice-govematore, ’ ’ answered 
the other, clearing his throat by a slight effort ; ‘ ‘ we always 
call our family ‘Smeet.’ ” 

“And the name of your lugger. Signor Capitano 
Smeet ? ’ ’ suspending his pen over the paper in expectation 
of the answer. 

“ Ze Ving-and-Ving ; ” pronouncing the w's in a very 
different way from what they had been sounded in answer- 
ing the hails. 

“ Ze Ving-y-Ving,” repeated Signor Barrofaldi, writing 
the name in a manner to show it was not the first time he 
had heard it ; “ ze Ving-y-Ving ; that is a poetical appella- 
tion, Signor Capitano ; may I presume to ask what it sig- 
nifies? ” 

^^Ala-e-Ala^ in your Italian, Mister Vice-govematore. 
When a craft like mine has a sail spread on each side, 
resembling a bird, we say, in English, that she marches 
‘ Ving-and-Ving.’ ” 

Andrea Barrofaldi mused, in silence, near a minute. Dur- 
ing this interval, he was thinking of the improbability of 
any but a bond fide Englishman’s dreaming of giving a 
vessel an appellation so thoroughly idiomatic, and was fast 
mystifying himself, as so often happens by tyros in any par- 
ticular branch of knowledge, by his own critical acumen. 
Then he half whispered a conjecture on the subject to Vito 
Viti, influenced quite as much by a desire to show his neigh- 
bor his own readiness in such matters, as by any other 
feeling. The podest^ was less struck by the distinction than 
his superior ; but, as became one of his limited means, he 
did not venture an objection. 

“Signor Capitano,” resumed Andrea Barrofaldi, “since 
when have you English adopted the rig of the lugger ? It 
is an unusual craft for so great a naval nation, they tell 
me.” 


26 




“Bah! I see how it is, Signor Vice-governatore — ^you 
suspect me of being a Frenchman, or a Spaniard, or some- 
thing else than I claim to be. On this head, however, you 
may set your heart at rest, and put full faith in what I tell 
you. My name is Capitaine Jaques Smeet ; my vessel is 
ze Ving-and-Ving; and my service that of the king of 
England.” 

“ Is your craft then, a king’s vessel ; or does she sail with 
the commission of a corsair ? ’ ’ 

“Do I look like a corsair. Signore?” demanded le Capi- 
taine Smeet, with an offended air; “I have reason to feel 
myself injured by so unworthy an imputation ! ” 

“Your pardon. Signor Capitano Smeet; but our duty is 
a very delicate one, on this unprotected island, in times as 
troubled as these in which we live. It has been stated to 
me, as coming from the most experienced pilot of our 
haven, that your lugger has not altogether the appearance 
of a vessel of the Inglese, while she has many that belong 
to the corsairs of France ; and a prudent caution imposes on 
me the office of making certain of your nation. Once 
assured of that, it will be the delight of the Blbans to prove 
how much we honor and esteem our illustrious allies.” 

‘ ‘ This is so reasonable, and so much according to what I 
do myself, when I meet a stranger at sea, ’ ’ cried the captain, 
stretching forth both arms in a frank and inviting manner, 
“ that none but a knave would object to it. Pursue your 
own course. Signor Vice-governatore, and satisfy all your 
scruples in your own manner. How shall this be done? 
will you go on board ze Ving-and-Ving, and look for your- 
self, send this honorable magistrate, or shall I show you my 
commission? Here is the last, altogether at your service, 
and that of his Imperial Highness, the Grand Duke.” 

“I flatter myself with having sufficient knowledge of In- 
ghilterra, Signor Capitano, though it be by means of books, 
to discover an impostor, could I believe you capable of 
appearing in so unworthy a character ; and that, too, in 
a very brief conversation. We book- worms,” added Andrea 
Barrofaldi, with a glance of triumph at his neighbor, for he 
now expected to give the podest^ an illustration of the prac- 




27 


tical benefits of general learning, a subject that had often 
been discussed between them, “we book-worms can man- 
age these trifles in our way ; and if you will consent to 
enter into a short dialogue on the subject of England, her 
habits, language, and laws, this question will be speedily 
put at rest.” 

“You have me at command ; and nothing would delight 
me more than to chat for a few minutes about that little 
island. It is not large. Signore, and is doubtless of little 
worth ; but, as my country, it is much in my eyes. ’ ’ 

“That is natural. And now, Signor Capitano,” added 
Andrea, glancing at the podest^, to make sure that he was 
listening, “will you have the goodness to explain to me 
what sort of a government this Inghilterra possesses — 
whether monarchy, aristocracy, or democracy ? ’ ’ 

“ Peste ! that is not so easily answered. There is a king, 
and yet there are powerful lords ; and a democracy, too, that 
sometimes gives trouble enough. Your question might puz- 
zle a philosopher. Signor Vice-govematore.” 

“This maybe true enough, neighbor Vito Viti, for the 
constitution of Inghilterra is an instrument of many strings. 
Your answer convinces me you have thought on the subject 
of your government, Capitano, and I honor a reflecting man 
in all situations in life. What is the religion of the 
country?” 

“ Corpo di Bacco ! that is harder to answer than all the 
rest ! We have as many religions in England as we have 
people. It is true the law says one thing on this head, but 
then the men, women, and children say another. Nothing 
has troubled me more than this same matter of religion.” 

“Ah ! you sailors do not disquiet your souls with such 
thoughts, if the truth must be said. Well, we will be indul- 
gent on this subject ; though, out of doubt, you and all 
your people are Euterani ? ” 

“Set us down as what you please,” answered the cap- 
tain, with an ironical smile. “ Our fathers, at any rate, 
were all good Catholics once. But seamanship and the 
altar are the best of friends living quite independent of 
each other,” 


28 


‘Wttino*=an&^Mtno 


“ That I will answer for. It is much the same here, caro 
Vito Viti, though our mariners do burn so many lamps and 
offer up so many aves.” 

“Your pardon, Signor Vice-governatore,” interrupted the 
Signor Snieet, with a little earnestness ; ‘ ‘ this is the great 
mistake of your seamen in general. Did they pray less, 
and look to their duties more, their voyages would be 
shorter, and the profits more certain.” 

“Scandalous ! ” exclaimed the podesta, in hotter zeal than 
it was usual for him to betray. 

“Nay, worthy Vito Viti, it is even so,” interrupted the 
deputy, with a wave of the hand that was authoritative 
as the concession was liberal, and indicative of a spirit en- 
lightened by study ; “ The fact must be conceded. There is 
the fable of Hercules and the wagoner to confirm it. Did 
our men first strive, and then pray, more would be done 
than by first praying and then striving; and now. Signor 
Capitano, a word on your language, of which I have some 
small knowledge, and which, doubtless, you speak like a 
native.” 

“Sairtain/<?^,” answered the captain, with perfect self-com- 
posure, changing the form of speech from the Italian to the 
English with a readiness that proved how strong he felt 
himself on this point ; “ one cannot fail to speak ze tongue 
of his own muzzair.” 

This was said without any confusion of manner, and with 
an accent that might very well mislead a foreigner, and it 
sounded imposing to the vice-governatore, who felt a secret 
consciousness that he could not have uttered such a sentence 
to save his own life, without venturing out of his depth : 
therefore, he pursued the discourse in Italian. 

“Your language. Signore,” observed Andrea Barrofaldi, 
with warmth, “is no doubt a very noble one, for the lan- 
guage in which Shakespeare and Milton wrote cannot be 
else ; but you will permit me to say that it has a uniformity 
of sound, with words of different letters, that I find as un- 
reasonable as it is embarrassing to a foreigner.” 

“ I have heard such complaints before,” answered the 
captain, not at all sorry to find the examination which had 




29 


proved so awkward to himself, likely to be transferred to a 
language about which he cared not at all, “ and have little 
to say in its defence. But as an example of what you 
mean — ’ ’ 

“ Why, Signore, here are several words that I have writ- 
ten on this bit of paper, which sound nearly alike, though, 
as you perceive, they are quite differently spelled. Bix, 
bax, box, bux, and bocks,” continued Andrea, endeavoring 
to pronounce, “big,” “bag,” “bug,” “bog,” and “box,” 
all of which, it seemed to him, had a very close family re- 
semblance in sound, though certainly spelled with different 
letters ; “ these are words. Signore, that are enough to drive 
a foreigner to abandon your tongue in despair.” 

‘ ‘ Indeed they are ; and I often told the person who taught 
me the language — ” 

‘ ‘ How ! did you not learn your own tongue as we all get 
our native forms of speech, by ear, when a child ? ” demanded 
the vice-governatore, his suspicions suddenly revived. 

“Without question. Signore; but I speak of books, and 
of learning to read. When ‘big,’ ‘bag,’ ‘bug,’ ‘bog,’ and 
‘box,’” reading from the paper in a steady voice, and a 
very tolerable pronunciation, “first came before me, I felt 
all the embarrassment of which you speak.” 

“And did you only pronounce these words when first 
taught to read them? ” 

This question was awkward to answer ; but Vito Viti 
began to weary of a discourse in which he could take no 
part, and most opportunely he interposed an objection of 
his own. 

“Signor Barrofaldi,” he said, “stick to the lugger. All 
our motives of suspicion came from Tommaso Tonti, and all 
of his from the rig of Signor Smees’ vessel. If the lugger 
can be explained, what do we care about bixy, buxy, 
boxy ! ’ ’ 

The vice-govematore was not sorry to get creditably out 
of the difficulties of the language, and smiling on his friend, 
he made a gentle bow of compliance. Then he reflected a 
moment, in order to plan another mode of proceeding, and 
pursued the inquiry. 


30 




“ My neighbor Vito Viti is right,” he said, “ and we will 
stick to the lugger. Tommaso Tonti is a mariner of expe- 
rience, and the oldest pilot of Elba. He tells us that the 
lugger is a craft much in use among the Erench, and not at 
all among the English, so far as he has ever witnessed. ” 

‘ ‘ In that Tommaso Tonti is no seaman. Many luggers 
are to be found among the English; though more, cer- 
tainly, among the French. But I have already given the 
Signor Viti to understand that there is such an island as 
Guernsey, which was once French, but which is now Eng- 
lish, and that accounts for the appearances he has observed. 
We are Guernsey men, the lugger is from Guernsey, and, 
no doubt, we have a Guernsey look. This is being half 
French, I allow.” 

“That alters the matter altogether. Neighbor Viti, this 
is all true about the island, and about its habits and its ori- 
gin ; and if one could be as certain about the names, why 
nothing more need be said. Are Giac Smees, and Ving-y- 
Ving, Guernsey names ? ’ ’ 

“They are not particularly so,” returned the sailor, with 
difficulty refraining from laughing in the vice-govematore’s 
face; “Jaques Smeet being so English, that we are the 
largest family, perhaps, in all Inghilterra. Half the nobles 
of the island are called Smeet, and not a few are named 
Jaques. But little Guernsey was conquered ; and our an- 
cestors who performed that office, brought their names with 
them. Signore. As for Ving-and-Ving, it is capital English. ’ ’ 
“ I do not see, Vito, but this is reasonable. If the capi- 
tano, now, only had his commission with him, you and I 
might go to bed in peace, and sleep till morning. ’ ’ 

“Here, then. Signore, are your sleeping potions,” con- 
tinued the laughing sailor, drawing from his pocket several 
papers. ‘ ‘ These are my orders from the admiral ; and, as 
they are not secret, you can cast your eyes over them. 
This is my commission. Signor Vice-governatore ; this is 
the signature of the English minister of marine, and here 
is my own, ‘Jaques Smeet,’ as you see; and here is the 
order to me, as a lieutenant to take command of the Ving- 
and-Ving.” 




31 


All the orders and names were there, certainly, written 
in a clear, fair hand, and in perfectly good Knglish. The 
only thing that one who understood the language would 
have been apt to advert to, was the circumstance that the 
words which the sailor pronounced “Jaques Smeet,” were 
written, plainly enough, “Jack Smith,” an innovation on 
the common practice which, to own the truth, had proceeded 
from his own obstinacy, and had been done in the very teeth 
of the objections of the scribe who forged the papers. But 
Andrea was still too little of an B^nglish scholar to under- 
stand the blunder, and the Jack passed, with him, quite 
as currently as would “John,” “Kdward,” or any other 
appellation. As to the Wing-and-Wing, all was right ; 
though, as the words were pointed out and pronounced 
by both parties, one pertinaciously insisted on calling them 
“ Ving-and-Ving, ” and the other, “ Ving-y-Ving. ” All this 
evidence had a great tendency towards smoothing down 
every difficulty, and ’Maso Tonti’s objections were pretty 
nearly forgotten by both the Italians, when the papers were 
returned to their proper owner. 

“ It was an improbable thing that an enemy, or a corsair, 
would venture into this haven of ours, Vito Viti, ” said the 
vice-governatore, in a self-approving manner; “we have a 
reputation for being vigilant, and for knowing our business, 
as well as the authorities of Livorno, or Genova, or Napoli. ” 

‘ ‘ And that too. Signore, with nothing in the world to gain 
but hard knocks and a prison, ’ ’ added the Captain Smeet, 
with one of his most winning smiles, a smile that even soft- 
ened the heart of the podesta, while it so far warmed that of 
his superior, as to induce him to invite the stranger to share 
his own frugal supper. The invitation was accepted as 
frankly as it had been given, and, the table being ready in 
an adjoining room, in a few minutes II Capitano Smees and 
Vito Viti were sharing the vice-govematore’s evening meal. 

From this moment, if distrust existed any longer in the 
breast of the two functionaries of Porto Ferrajo, it was so 
effectually smothered as to be known only to themselves. 
The light fare of an Italian kitchen, and the light wines of 
Tuscany, just served to strengthen the system and enliven 


32 




the spirits ; the conversation becoming general and lively, 
as the business of the moment proceeded. At that day, tea 
was known throughout southern Europe as an ingredient 
only for the apothecary’s keeping ; nor was it often to be 
found among his stores ; and the convives used, as a substi- 
tute, large draughts of the pleasant mountain liquors of the 
adjacent main, which produced an excitement scarcely 
greater, while it may be questioned if it did as much injury 
to the health. The stranger, however, both eat and drank 
sparingly, for, while he affected to join cordially in the dis- 
course and the business of restoration, he greatly desired to 
be at liberty to pursue his own designs. 

Andrea Barrofaldi did not let so excellent an opportunity 
to show his acquirements to the podesta go by neglected. 
He talked much of England, its history, its religion, gov- 
ernment, laws, climate, and industry ; making frequent ap- 
peals to the Capitano Smees for the truth of his opinions. 
In most cases the parties agreed surprisingly, for the stran- 
ger started with a deliberate intention to assent to every- 
thing ; but even this compliant temper had its embarrass- 
ments, since the vice-governatore so put his interrogatories 
as occasionally to give to acquiescence the appearance of 
dissent. The other floundered through his difficulties tol- 
erably well, notwithstanding ; and so successful was he, in 
particular, in flattering Andrea’s self-love by expressions of 
astonishment that a foreigner should understand his own 
country so well — ^better, indeed, in many respects, than he 
understood it himself — and that he should be so familiar 
with its habits, institutions, and geography, that, by the 
time the flask was emptied, the superior functionary whis- 
pered to his inferior, that the stranger manifested so much 
information and good sense, he should not be surpri.sed if 
he turned out, in the long run, to be some secret agent 
of the British government, employed to make philosophical 
inquiries as to the trade and navigation of Italy, with a 
view to improve the business relations between the two 
countries. 

“You are an admirer of nobility, and a devotee of aris- 
tocracy,’’ added Andrea Barrofaldi, in pursuit of the subject 




33 


then in hand; “if the truth were known, a scion of some 
noble house yourself, Signore ? ’ ’ 

“ I ? — Peste ! — I hate an aristocrat, Signor Vice-govem- 
atore, as I do the devil ! “ 

This was said just after the freest draught the stranger 
had taken, and with an unguarded warmth that he himself 
immediately regretted. 

‘ ‘ This is extraordinary, in an Inglese ! Ah — I see how 
it is ; you are in the opposizione, and find it necessary to 
say this. It is most extraordinary, good Vito Viti, that 
these Inglese are divided into two political castes, that con- 
tradict each other in everything. If one maintains that an 
object is white, the other side swears it is black ; and so vice 
versd. Both parties profess to love their country better 
than anything else ; but the one that is out of power abuses 
even power itself, until it falls into its own hands. ’ ’ 

“This is so much like Giorgio Grondi’s course towards 
me. Signore, that I could almost swear he was one of these 
very opposizione ! I never approve of a thing that he does 
not condemn, or condemn, that he does not approve. Do 
you confess this much. Signor Capitano? ” 

‘ ‘ II vice-governatore knows us better than we know our- 
selves, I fear. There is too much truth in his account of 
our politics; but. Signori,” rising from his chair, “ I now 
crave your permission to look at your town, and to return to 
my vessel. The darkness has come, and discipline must 
be observed. ’ ’ 

As Andrea Barrofaldi had pretty well exhausted his stores 
of knowledge, no opposition was made ; and returning his 
thanks, the stranger took his departure, leaving the two 
functionaries to discuss his appearance and character over 
the remainder of the flask. 

3 




CHAPTER III. 

“ There ’s Jonathan, that lucky lad, 

Who knows it from the root, sir ; 

He sucks in all that ’s to be had. 

And always trades for boot, sir.” 

14^763(1 Verse of Yankee Doodle, 

I E C APITANO SHEET was not sorry to get out of the 
government house — ^palazzo, as some of the simple 
people of Elba called the ambitious dwelling. He 
had been well badgered by the persevering erudition 
of the vice-governatore ; and, stored as he was with nautical 
anecdotes, and a tolerable personal acquaintance with sun- 
dry sea-ports, for any expected occasion of this sort, he had 
never anticipated a conversation which would aspire as high 
as the institutions, religion, and laws of his adopted coun- 
try. Had the worthy Andrea heard the numberless 
maledictions that the stranger muttered between his teeth, 
as he left the house, it would have shocked all his sensi- 
bilities, if it did not revive his suspicions. 

It was now night ; but a starry, calm, voluptuous even- 
ing, such as are familiar to those who are acquainted with 
the Mediterranean and its shores. There was scarcely a 
breath of wind, though the cool air, that appeared to be a 
gentle respiration of the sea, induced a few idlers still to 
linger on the heights, where there was a considerable extent 
of land, that might serve for a promenade. Along this 
walk the mariner proceeded, undetermined, for the moment, 
what to do next. He had scarcely got into the open space, 
however, before a female, with her form closely enveloped in 
a mantle, brushed near him, anxiously gazing into his face. 

34 




35 


Her motions were too quick and sudden for him to obtain a 
look in return ; but, perceiving that she held her way along 
the heights, beyond the spot most frequented by the idlers, 
he followed until she stopped. 

‘ ‘ Ghita ! ’ ’ said the young man, in a tone of delight, when 
he had got near enough to the female to recognize a face and 
form she no longer attempted to conceal ; ‘ ‘ this is being for- 
tunate, indeed, and saves a vast deal of trouble. A thou- 
sand, thousand thanks, dearest Ghita, for this one act of 
kindness. I might have brought trouble on you, as well as 
on myself, in striving to find your residence. ’ ’ 

“It is for that reason, Raoul, that I have ventured so 
much more than is becoming in my sex, to meet you. A 
thousand eyes, in this gossiping little town, are on your lug- 
ger, at this moment, and be certain they will also be on its 
captain, as soon as it is known he has landed. I fear you 
do not know for what you and your people are suspected, at 
this very instant ! ” 

“For nothing discreditable, I hope, dear Ghita, if it be 
only not to dishonor your friends ! ’ ’ 

“Many think and say you are Frenchmen, and that the 
English flag is only a disguise.” 

‘ ‘ If that be all, we must bear the infamy, ’ ’ answered Raoul 
Yvard, laughing. “ Why, this is just what we are to a man, 
a single American excepted, who is an excellent fellow to 
make out British commissions, and helps us to a little Eng- 
lish when harder pushed than common ; and why should we 
be offended, if the good inhabitants of Porto Ferrajo take us 
for what we are ? ’ ’ 

“Not offended, Raoul, but endangered. If the vice- 
governatore gets this notion, he will order the batteries to 
fire upon you, and will destroy you as an enemy.” 

“ Not he, Ghita. He is too fond of le Capitaine Smeet, 
to do so cruel a thing ; and then he must shift all his guns, 
before they will hurt Le Feu-Follet where she lies. I never 
leave my little Jack-o’-Eantern * within reach of an enemy’s 
hand. Eook here, Ghita; you can see her through this 
opening in the houses — that dark spot on the bay, there; 

‘ The English of FeuFollet. 


36 


OTfng=anJ)=ming 


and you will perceive no gun from any battery in Porto Fer- 
rajo can as much as frighten, much less harm her.” 

“I know her position, Raoul, and understood why you 
anchored in that spot. I knew, or thought I knew you, 
from the first moment you came in plain sight ; and so long 
as you remained outside, I was not sorry to look on so old 
a friend; nay, I will go further, and say I rejoiced, for it 
seemed to me you passed so near the island, just to let some 
whom you knew to be on it understand you had not for- 
gotten them; but when you came into the bay, I thought 
you mad ! ’ ’ 

“Mad I shotdd have been, dearest Ghita, had I lived 
longer without seeing you. What are these misirables of 
Klbans, that I should fear them ! They have no cruiser — 
only a few feluccas — all of which are not worth the trouble 
of burning. Tet them but point a finger at us, and we will 
tow their Austrian polacre out into the bay, and bum her 
before their eyes. Te Feu-Follet deserves her name ; she is 
here, there, and everywhere, before her enemies suspect 
her.” 

‘ ‘ But her enemies suspect her now, and you cannot be 
too cautious. My heart was in my throat a dozen times, 
while the batteries were firing at you this evening.” 

“And what harm did they? they cost the Grand Duke 
two cartridges, and two shot, without even changing the 
lugger’s course ! You have seen too much of these things, 
Ghita, to be alarmed by smoke and noise.” 

“ I have seen enough of these things, Raoul, to know that 
a heavy shot, fired from these heights, would have gone 
through your little Feu-Follet, and, coming out under 
water, would have sunk you to the bottom of the Medi- 
terranean.” 

“We should have had our boats, then, ” answered Raoul 
Yvard, with an indifference that was not affected, for reck- 
less daring was his vice, rather than his virtue ; “ besides, a 
shot must first hit, before it can harm, as the fish must be 
taken, before it can be cooked. But enough of this, Ghita ; 
I get quite enough of shot, and ships, and sinking, in every- 
day life, and, now I have at last found this blessed moment. 




37 


we will not throw away the opportunity by talking of such 
matters — ’ ’ 

“Nay, Raoul, I can think of nothing else, and therefore 
can talk of nothing else. Suppose the vice-governatore 
should suddenly take it into his head to send a party of 
soldiers to I,e Feu-Follet, with orders to seize her ; what 
would then be your situation ? ” 

“ Fet him ; and I would send a boat’s crew to his palazzo, 
here,” the conversation was in French, which Ghita spoke 
fluently, though with an Italian accent, ‘ ‘ and take him on a 
cruise after the English and his beloved Austrians ! Bah ! 
the idea will not cross his constitutional brain, and there is 
little use in talking about it. In the morning, I will send 
my prime minister, mon Barras, mon Carnot, mon Cam- 
baceres, mon Ithuel Bolt, to converse with him on politics 
and religion.” 

“Religion,” repeated Ghita, in a saddened tone; “the 
less you say on that holy subject, Raoul, the better I shall 
like it, and the better it will be for yourself, in the end. 
The state of your country makes your want of religion 
matter of regret, rather than of accusation, but it is none the 
less a dreadful evil.” 

“ Well, then,” resumed the sailor, who felt he had touched 
a dangerous ground, “we will talk of other things. Even 
supposing we are taken, what great evil have we to appre- 
hend? We are honest corsairs, duly commissioned, and 
acting under the protection of the French Republic, one and 
undivided, and can but be made prisoners of war. That is 
a fortune which has once befallen me, and no greater calam- 
ity followed than my having to call myself le Capitaine 
Smeet, and finding out the means of mystifying le vice- 
govematore.” 

Ghita laughed, in spite of the fears she entertained, for it 
was one of the most powerful of the agencies the sailor em- 
ployed in making others converts to his opinions, to cause 
them to sympathize with his light-hearted gayety, whether it 
suited their natural temperaments or not. She knew that 
Raoiil had already been a prisoner in England two years, 
where, as he often said himself, he stayed just long enough to 


38 




acquire a very respectable acquaintance with the language, 
if not with the institutions, manners, and religion, when he 
made his escape aided by the American called Ithuel Bolt, 
an impressed seaman of our own Republic, who, fully enter- 
ing into all the plans imagined by his more enterprising 
friend and fellow-sufferer, had cheerfully enlisted in the exe- 
cution of his future schemes of revenge. States, like power- 
ful individuals in private life, usually feel themselves too 
strong to allow any considerations of the direct consequences 
of departures from the right to influence their policy ; and a 
nation is apt to fancy its power of such a character, as to 
despise all worldly amends, while its moral responsibility is 
divided among too many to make it a matter of much con- 
cern to its particular citizens. Nevertheless, the truth wdll 
show that none are so low but they may become dangerous 
to the highest ; and even powerful communities seldom fail 
to meet with their punishment for every departure from 
justice. It would seem, indeed, that a principle pervades 
nature, which renders it impossible for man to escape the 
consequences of his own evil deeds, even in this life ; as if 
God had decreed the universal predominance of truth, and 
the never-failing downfall of falsehood from the beginning ; 
the success of wrong being ever temporary, while the tri- 
umph of the right is eternal. To apply these consoling con- 
siderations to the matter more immediately before us : The 
practice of impressment, in its day, raised a feeling among 
the seamen of other nations, as well as, in fact, among those 
of Great Britain herself, that probably has had as much 
efiect in destroying the prestige of her nautical invincibility, 
supported, as was that prestige, by a vast existing force, as 
any other one cause whatever. It was necessary to witness 
the feeling of hatred and resentment that was raised by the 
practice of this despotic power, more especially among those 
who felt that their foreign birth ought at least to have in- 
sured them impunity from the abuse, in order fully to appre- 
ciate what might so readily become its consequences. Ithuel 
Bolt, the seaman just mentioned, was a proof, in a small 
way, of the harm that even an insignificant individual can 
effect, when his mind is fully and wholly bent on revenge. 




39 


Ghita knew him well ; and, although she little liked either 
his character or his appearance, she had often been obliged 
to smile at the narrative of the deceptions he practised on 
the English, and of the thousand low inventions he had de- 
vised to do them injury. She was not slow, now, to imag- 
ine that his agency had not been trifling in carrying on the 
present fraud. 

“You do not openly call your lugger Ee Feu-Follet, 
Raoul,” she answered, after a minute’s pause ; “that would 
be a dangerous name to utter, even in Porto Ferrajo. It 
is not a week since I heard a mariner dwelling on her mis- 
deeds, and the reasons that all good Italians have to detest 
her. It is fortunate the man is away, or he could not fail 
to know you.” 

“ Of that I am not so certain, Ghita. We alter our paint 
often, and, at need, can alter our rig. You may be certain, 
however, that we hide our Jack-o’-Eantern, and sail under 
another name. The lugger, now she is in the English ser- 
vice, is called the ‘ Ving-and-Ving. ’ ” 

‘ ‘ I heard the answer given to the hail from the shore, 
but it sounded different from this.” 

“ Non — Ving-and-Ving. Ithuel answered for us, and 
you may be sure he can speak his own tongue. Ving-and 
Ving is the word, and he pronounces it as I do. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Ving-y-Ving ! ’ ’ repeated Ghita, in her pretty Italian 
tones, dropping naturally into the vice-govematore’s fault 
of pronunciation ; “ it is an odd name, and I like it less than 
Feu-Follet.” 

“ I wish, dearest Ghita, I could persuade you to like the 
name of Yvard,” rejoined the young man, in a half-re- 
proachful, half-tender manner, ‘ ‘ and I should care nothing 
for any other. You accuse me of disrespect for priests ; 
but no son could ever kneel to a father for his blessing, half 
so readily, or half so devoutly, as I could kneel with thee, 
before any friar in Italy, to receive that nuptial benediction 
which I have so often asked at your hand, but which you 
have so constantly and so cruelly refused. ’ ’ 

“lam afraid the name would not then be Feu-Follet, but 
Ghita-Folie,” said the girl, laughing, though she felt a 


40 




bitter pang at the heart, that cost her an effort to control ; 
“ no more of this now, Raoul ; we may be observed and 
watched ; it is necessary that we separate. ’ ’ 

A hurried conversation, of more interest to the young 
couple themselves than it would prove to the reader, though 
it might not have been wholly without the latter, but which 
it would be premature to relate, now followed, when Ghita 
left Raoul on the hill, insisting that she knew the town too 
well to have any apprehensions about threading its narrow 
and steep streets, at any hour, by herself. This much, in 
sooth, must be said in favor of Andrea Barrofaldi’s admin- 
istration of justice ; he had made it safe for the gentle, the 
feeble, and the poor, equally, to move about the island by 
day or by night ; it seldom happening that so great an enemy 
to peace and tranquillity appeared among his simple depend- 
ents, as was the fact at this precise moment. 

In the meantime, there was not quite as much tranquil- 
lity in Porto Ferrajo, as the profound silence which reigned 
in the place might have induced a stranger to imagine. 
Tommaso Tonti was a man of influence, within his sphere, 
as well as the vice-govematore ; and having parted from Vito 
Viti, as has been related, he sought the little clientelle of 
padroni and piloti, who were in the habit of listening to his 
opinions as if they were oracles. The usual place of resort 
of this set, after dark, was a certain house kept by a widow 
of the name of Benedetta Galopo, the uses of which were 
plainly enough indicated by a small bush that hung dang- 
ling from a short pole, fastened above the door. If Bene- 
detta knew anything of the proverb, that ‘ ‘ Good wine needs 
no bush,” she had not sufficient faith in the contents of her 
own casks to trust to their reputation ; for this bush of hers 
was as regularly renewed as its withering leaves required. 
Indeed, it was a common remark among her customers, that 
her bush was always as fresh as her face, and that the latter 
was one of the most comely that was to be met with on the 
island ; a circumstance that aided much indifferent wine in 
finding a market. Benedetta bore a reasonably good name, 
nevertheless, though it was oftener felt, perhaps, than said, 
that she was a confirmed coquette. She tolerated ’Maso 




41 


principally on two accounts ; because, if he were old and un- 
attractive in his own person, many of his followers were 
among the smartest seamen of the port, and because he not 
only drank his full proportion, but paid with punctuality. 
These inducements rendered the pilot always a welcome 
guest at Ta Santa Maria degli Venti, as the house was called, 
though it had no other sign than the often-renewed bush, 
already mentioned. 

At the very moment, then, when Raoul Yvard and Ghita 
parted on the hill, ’ Maso was seated in his usual place at the 
table in Benedetta’s upper room, the windows of which com- 
manded as full a view of the lugger as the hour permitted ; 
that craft being anchored about a cable’s length distant, and, 
as a sailor might have expressed it, just abeam. On this oc- 
casion he had selected the upper room, and but three com- 
panions, because it was his wish that as few should enter into 
his counsels as at all comported with the love of homage to 
his own experience. The party had been assembled a quar- 
ter of an hour, and there had been time to cause the tide to 
ebb materially in the flask, which it may be well to tell the 
reader at once, contained very little less than half a gallon of 
liquor, such as it was. 

‘ ‘ I have told it all to the podesta, ’ ’ said ’ Maso, with an 
important manner, as he put down his glass, after potation 
the second, which quite equalled potation the first in quan- 
tity ; “yes, I have told it all to Vito Viti, and no doubt he 
has told it to II Signor Vice-governatore, who now knows as 
much about the whole matter as either of us four. Cospetto ! 
to think such a thing dare happen in a haven like Porto 
Ferrajo ! Had it come to pass over on the other side of the 
island, at Porto Tongone, one would n’t think so much of it, 
for they are never much on the look-out ; but to take place 
here, in the very capital of Elba, I should as soon have 
expected it in Livorno ! ’ ’ 

“But, ’Maso,” put in Daniele Bruno, in the manner of one 
who was a little skeptical, “ I have often seen the pavilion 
of the Inglese, and this is as much like that which all their 
frigates and corvettes wear, as one of our feluccas is like 
another. The flag, at least, is right.” 


42 




“ What signifies a flag, Daniele, when a French hand can 
hoist an English ensign as easily as the king of Inghilterra 
himself ? If the lugger was not built by the Fran^ese, you 
were not built by an Italian father and mother. But, I 
should not think so much of the hull, for that may have 
been captured, as the English take many of their enemies on 
the high seas; but look at the rigging and sails — Santa 
Maria ! I could go to the shop of the very sailmaker, in Mar- 
seilles, who made that foresail ! His name is Pierre Benoit, 
and a very good workman he is, as all will allow who have 
had occasion to employ him.” 

This particularity greatly aided the argument ; common 
minds being seldom above yielding to the circumstances 
which are so often made to corroborate imaginary facts. 
Tommaso Tonti, though so near the truth as to his main 
point — the character of the visitor — was singularly out as 
to the sail, notwithstanding ; Ee Feu-Follet having been 
built, equipped, and manned at Nantes, and Pierre Benoit 
never having seen her or her foresail either ; but it mattered 
not, in the way of discussion and assertion, one sail-maker 
being as good as another, provided he was French. 

“And have you mentioned this to the podesta?” in- 
quired Benedetta, who stood with the empty flask in her 
hand, listening to the discourse; “ I should think that sail 
would open his eyes. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ I cannot say I have ; but then I told him so many other 
things more to the point, that he cannot do less than believe 
this, when he hears it. Signor Vito promised to meet me 
here, after he has had a conversation with the vice-governa- 
tore ; and we may now expect him every minute. ’ ’ 

“II Signor Podest^ will be welcome,” said Benedetta, 
wiping off a spare table, and bustling round the room to 
make things look a little smarter than they ordinarily did ; 
“ he may frequent grander wine houses than this, but he will 
hardly find better liquor. ’ ’ 

“Poverina ! Don’t think that the podesta comes 
here on any such errand ; he comes to meet me, ’ ’ answered 
’Maso, with an indulgent smile; “he takes his wine too 
often on the heights, to wish to come as low as this after a 




43 


glass. Friends of mine (amigi 7nu), there is wine up at that 
house, that, when the oil is once out of the neck of the flask,* 
goes down a man’s throat as smoothly as if it were all oil 
itself ! I (sould drink a flask of it without once stopping to 
take breath. It is that liquor which makes the nobles so 
light and airy.” 

“I know the washy stuff,” put in Benedetta, with more 
warmth than she was used to betray to her customers; 

well may you call it smooth, a good spring running near 
each of the wine-presses that have made it. I have seen 
some of it that even oil would not float on ! ” 

This assertion was a fair counterpoise to that of the sail, 
being about as true. But Benedetta had too much experi- 
ence in the inconstancy of men, not to be aware that if the 
three or four customers who were present should seriously 
take up the notion that the island contained any better 
liquor than that she habitually placed before them, her 
value might be sensibly diminished in their eyes. As be- 
came a woman who had to struggle singly with the world, 
too, her native shrewdness taught her, that the best moment 
to refute a calumny was to stop it as soon as it began to 
circulate, and her answer was as warm in manner as it was 
positive in terms. This was an excellent opening for an 
animated discussion, and one would have been very likely to 
occur, had there not fortunately been steps heard without, 
that induced ’Maso to expect the podest^. Sure enough, 
the door opened, and Vito Viti appeared, followed, to the 
astonishment of all the guests, and to the absolute awe of 
Benedetta, by the vice-governatore himself. 

The solution of this unexpected visit is very easily given. 
After the departure of the Capitano Smees, Vito Viti re- 
turned to the subject of ’Maso’s suspicions, and by suggest- 
ing certain little circumstances in the mariner’s manner, 
that he had noted during the interview, he so far succeeded 
in making an impression on himself, that, in the end, his 
own distrust revived, and with it that of the deputy-gov- 
ernor. Neither, however, could be said to be more than 

^ It is a practice in Tuscany to put a few drops of oil in the neck of 
each flask of the more delicate wines, to exclude the air. 


44 




uneasy, and the podesta happening to mention his appoint- 
ment with the pilot, Andrea determined to accompany him, 
in order to reconnoitre the strange craft in person. Both 
the functionaries wore their cloaks, by no means an unusual 
thing in the cool night air of the coast, even in midsummer, 
which served them for all the disguise that circumstances 
required. 

‘ ‘ II Signor Vice-governatore ! ’ ’ almost gasped Benedetta, 
dusting a chair, and then the table, and disposing the former 
near the latter by a sort of mechanical process, as if only 
one errand could ever bring a guest within her doors ; 
‘ ‘ your Bccellenza is most welcome ; and it is an honor I 
could oftener ask. We are humble people down here at the 
water side, but I hope we are just as good Christians as if 
we lived upon the hill.” 

“ Doubt it not, worthy Bettina — ” 

“My name is Benedetta, at your Bccellenza’ s command — 
Benedettina, if it pleases the vice-govematore ; but not 
Bettina. We think much of our names, down here at the 
water side, Bccellenza. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Bet it be so, then, good Benedetta, and I make no doubt 
you are excellent Christians. A flask of your wine, if it 
be convenient.” 

The woman dropped a courtesy that was full of gratitude ; 
and the glance of triumph that she cast at her other guests, 
may be said to have terminated the discussion that was 
about to commence, as the dignitaries appeared. It dis- 
posed of the question of the wine at once, and forever 
silenced cavilling. If the vice-governatore could drink her 
liquor, what mariner would henceforth dare calumniate it ! 

“ Bccellenza, with a thousand welcomes,” Benedetta con- 
tinued, as she placed the flask on the table, after having 
carefully removed the cotton and the oil with her own plump 
hand ; this being one of half a dozen flasks of really sound, 
well-flavored, Tuscan liquor, that she kept for especial oc- 
casions ; as she well might, the cost being only a paul, or 
ten cents for near half a gallon; “Bccellenza, a million 
times welcome. This is an honor that don’t befall the 
Santa Maria degli Venti more than once in a century : and 




45 


you, too, Signor Podesta, once before, only, have you ever 
had leisure to darken my poor door.” 

“We bachelors” — the podesta, as well as the vice-gov- 
ernatore, belonged to the fraternity — “we bachelors are 
afraid to trust ourselves too often in the company of a 
sprightly widow like yourself, whose beauty has rather 
improved than lessened by a few years. ’ ’ 

This brought a coquettish answer, during which time 
Andrea Barrofaldi, having first satisfied himself that the 
wine might be swallowed with impunity, was occupied in 
surveying the party of silent and humble mariners, who 
were seated at the other table. His object was to ascertain 
how far he might have committed himself, by appearing in 
such a place, when his visit could not well be attributed to 
more than one motive. ’Maso he knew, as the oldest pilot 
of the place, and he had also some knowledge of Daniele 
Bruno ; but the three other seamen were strangers to him. 

‘ ‘ Inquire if we are among friends, here, and worthy sub- 
jects of the Grand Duke, all,” observed Andrea to Vito 
Viti, in a low voice. 

‘ ‘ Thou hearest, ’ Maso, ’ ’ observed the podesta ; ‘ ‘ canst 
thou answer for all of thy companions ? ’ ’ 

“Every one of them. Signore: this is Daniele Bruno, 
whose father was killed in a battle with the Algerines, and 
whose mother was the daughter of a mariner, as well-known 
in Elba as — ” 

“Never mind the particulars, Tommaso Tonti,” inter- 
rupted the vice-governatore : “it is sufficient that thou 
knowest all thy companions to be honest men, and faithful 
servants of the sovrano. You all know, most probably, the 
errand which has brought the Signor Viti and myself to this 
house, to-night?” 

The men looked at each other, as the ill-instructed are 
apt to do, when it becomes necessary to answer a question 
that concerns many ; assisting the workings of their minds, 
as it might be, with the aid of the senses ; and then Daniele 
Bruno took on himself the office of spokesman. 

“Signore, vostro Eccellenza, we think we do,” answered 
the man. ‘ ‘ Our fellow, ’ Maso here, has given us to under- 


46 




stand that he suspects the Inglese that is anchored in the 
bay, to be no Inglese at all, but either a pirate or a French- 
man — the blessed Maria preserve us ! but in these troubled 
times it does not make much difference which. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ I will not say as much as that, friend ; for one would be 
an outcast among all people, while the other would have the 
rights which shield the servants of civilized nations,” re- 
turned the scrupulous and just-minded functionary. “The 
time was when his Imperial Majesty, the Kmperor, and his 
illustrious brother, our sovereign, the Grand Duke, did not 
allow that the republican government of France was a law- 
ful government ; but the fortune of war removed his scru- 
ples, and the treaty of peace has allowed the contrary. 
Since the late alliance, it is our duty to consider all French- 
men as enemies, though it by no means follows that we are 
to consider them as pirates.” 

‘ ‘ But their corsairs seize all our craft. Signore, and treat 
their people as if they were no better than dogs ; then, they 
tell me that they are not Christians ; no, not even Tuterani 
or heretics ! ” 

“That religion does not flourish among them, is true,” 
answered Andrea, who loved so well to discourse on such 
subjects, that he would have stopped to reason on religion or 
manners with the beggars to whom he gave a pittance, did 
he only meet with encouragement ; ‘ ‘ but it is not as bad 
in France, on this important head, as it has been; and 
we may hope that there will be further improvement, in due I 
time.” ! 

“But, Signor Vice-governatore,” put in ’Maso, “these j 
people have treated the Holy Father and his states in a way I 
that one wotild not treat an infldel or a Turk ! ” 

“ Ay, that is it. Signori,” observed Benedetta ; “a poor 
woman cannot go to mass without having her mind dis- ! 
turbed by the thoughts of the wrongs done the head of the 
Church. Had these things come from Tuterani, it might 
have been borne ; but they say the Fransjese were once all 
good Catholics ! ’ ’ 

“So were the Tuterani, bella Benedetta, to their chief 
schismatic and leader, the German monk himself.” 




47 


This piece of information caused great surprise, even the 
podesta himself turning an inquiring glance at his superior, 
as much as to acknowledge his own wonder that a Protestant 
should ever have been anything but a Protestant— or rather, 
a Lutheran anything but a Lutheran— the word Protestant 
being too significant to be in favor among those who deny 
there were any just grounds for a protest at all. That 
lyUther had ever been a Romanist, was perfectly wonderful, 
even in the eyes of Vito Viti. 

Signore, you would hardly mislead these honest people, 
in a matter as grave as this ! ’ ’ exclaimed the podest^. 

“ I do but tell you truth ; and one of these days you shall 
hear the whole story, neighbor Viti. ’T is worth an hour 
of leisure, to any man, and is very consoling and useful to a 
Christian. But whom have you below, Benedetta ? I hear 
steps on the stairs, and wish not to be seen. ’ ’ 

The widow stepped promptly forward to meet her new 
guests, and to show them into a commoner room, below 
stairs, when her movement was anticipated by the door’s 
opening, and a man’s standing on the threshold. It was 
now too late to prevent the intrusion, and a little surprise at 
the appearance of the new-comer held all mute and observ- 
ant for a minute. 

The person who had followed his ears, and thus reached 
the sanctum sanctorum of Benedetta, was no other than 
Ithuel Bolt, the American seaman, already named in the 
earlier part of this chapter. He was backed by a Genoese, 
who had come in the double capacity of interpreter and 
boon companion. That the reader may the better understand 
the character he has to deal with, however, it may be neces- 
sary to digress, by giving a short account of the history, 
appearance, and peculiarities of the former individual. 

Ithuel Bolt was a native of what, in this great Union, is 
called the Granite State. Notwithstanding he was not abso- 
lutely made of the stone in question, there was an absence 
of the ordinary symptoms of natural feeling about him, that 
had induced many of his Trench acquaintances in particular 
to affirm that there was a good deal more of marble in his 
moral temperament, at least, than usually fell to the lot of 


48 




human beings. He had the outline of a good frame, but it 
was miserably deficient in the filling up. The bone predom- 
inated ; the sinews came next in consideration ; nor was 
the man without a proper share of muscle ; but this last was 
so disposed of as to present nothing but angles, whichever 
way he was viewed. Kven his thumbs and fingers were 
nearer square than round ; and his very neck, which was 
bare, though a black silk kerchief was tied loosely round 
the throat, had a sort of pentagon look about it, that defied 
all symmetry or grace. His stature was just six feet and an 
inch, when he straightened himself, as he did from time to 
time, seemingly with a desire to relieve a very inveterate 
stoop in his shoulders ; though it was an inch or two less, in 
the position he most affected. His hair was dark, and his 
skin had got several coats of confirmed brown on it, by 
exposure, though originally rather fair ; while the features 
were good, the forehead being broad and full, and the mouth 
positively handsome. This singular countenance was illu- 
minated by two keen, restless, whitish eyes, that resembled, 
not spots on the sun, but rather suns on a spot. 

Ithuel had gone through all the ordinary vicissitudes of 
an American life, beneath those pursuits which are com- 
monly thought to be confined to the class of gentlemen. 
He had been farmer’s boy, printer’s devil, schoolmaster, 
stage-driver, and tin-pedler, before he ever saw the sea. In 
the way of what he called “chores,” too, he had practised 
all the known devices of rustic domestic economy ; having 
assisted even in the washing and house-cleaning, besides 
having passed the evenings of an entire winter in making 
brooms. 

Ithuel had reached his thirtieth year before he dreamed of 
going to sea. An accident then put preferment in this form be- 
fore his eyes, and he engaged as the mate of a small coaster, 
on his very first voyage. Fortunately, the master never foimd 
out his deficiencies, for Ithuel had a self-possessed, confident 
way with him, that prevented discovery, until they were out- 
side of the port from which they sailed, when the former 
was knocked overboard by the main boom, and drowned. 
Most men, so circumstanced, would have returned, but Bolt 




49 


never laid his hand to the plough and looked back. Besides, 
one course was quite as easy to him as another. Whatever 
he undertook he usually completed, in some fashion or 
other, though it were often much better had it never been 
attempted. Fortunately it was summer, the wind was fair, 
and the crew wanted little ordering ; and as it was quite 
a matter of course to steer in the right direction, until the 
schooner was carried safely into her proper port, she arrived 
safely ; her people swearing that the new mate was the 
easiest and cleverest officer they had ever sailed with. And 
well they might, for Ithuel took care not to issue an order, 
until he had heard it suggested in terms by one of the 
hands ; and then he never failed to repeat it, word for word, 
as if it were a suggestion of his own. As for the reputation 
of ‘ ‘ cleverest’ ’ officer, which he so easily obtained, it will be 
understood, of course, that the term was used in the provin- 
cial signification that is so common in the part of the world 
from which Ithuel came. He was ‘ ‘ clever ’ ’ in this sense, 
precisely in proportion as he was ignorant. His success, on 
this occasion, gained him friends, and he was immediately 
sent out again as the regular master of the craft, in which 
he had so unexpectedly received his promotion. He now 
threw all the duty on the mate ; but so ready was he in 
acquiring, that, by the end of six months, he was a much 
better sailor than most Europeans would have made in three 
years. As the pitcher that goes too often to the well is 
finally broken, so did Ithuel meet with shipwreck, at last, in 
consequence of gross ignorance on the subject of navigation. 
This induced him to try a long voyage, in a more subordi- 
nate situation, until in the course of time he was impressed 
by the commander of an English frigate, who had lost so 
many of his men by the yellow fever, that he seized upon all 
he could lay his hands on, to supply their places, even 
Ithuel being acceptable in such a strait. 

4 



CHAPTER IV. 

** The ship is here put in, 

A Veronese ; Michael Cassio, 

Lieutenant to "the warlike Moor Othello, 

Is come on shore.” 

Othello. 

T he glance which Ithuel cast around him was brief, 
but comprehensive. He saw that two of the 
party in the room were much superior to the other 
four, and that the last were common Mediterranean 
mariners. The position which Benedetta occupied in the 
household could not be mistaken, for she proclaimed herself 
its mistress by her very air ; whether it were in the upper or 
in the lower room. 

“Vino,” said Ithuel, with a flourish of the hand, to help 
along his Italian, this and one or two more being the only 
words of the language he ventured to use directly, or with- 
out calling in the assistance of his interpreter; “vino — 
vino, vino, Signora.” 

“Si, si, si, Signore,” answered Benedetta, laughing, and 
this with her meaning eyes so keenly riveted on the person 
of her new guest, as to make it very questionable whether 
she were amused by anything but his appearance; “your 
eccellenza shall be served ; but whether at a paul, or a half- 
paul the flask, depends on your own pleasure. We keep 
wine at both prices, and,” glancing towards the table of An- 
drea Barrofaldi, ‘ ‘ usually serve the flrst to signori of rank 
and distinction.” 

‘ ‘ What does the woman say ? ’ ’ growled Ithuel to his in- 
terpreter, a Genoese, who, from having served several years 
in the British navy, spoke English with a very tolerable fa- 

50 




51 


cility ; ‘‘you know what we want, and just tell her to hand 
it over, and I will fork out her St. Paul without more words. 
What a desperate liking your folks have for saints, Philip-o,” 
for so Ithuel pronounced Filippo, the name of his companion 
— “what a desperate liking your folks have for saints, 
Philip-o, that they must even call their money a’ ter them.” 

“ It not so in America, Signor Bolto? ” asked the Geno- 
ese, after he had explained his wishes to Benedetta, in Ital- 
ian ; “it no ze fashion in your country to honor ze 
saints ? ’ ’ 

“Honor the saints!” repeated Ithuel, looking curiously 
around him, as he took a seat at a third table, shoving aside 
the glasses at the same time, and otherwise disposing of 
everything within reach of his hand, so as to suit his own 
notions of order, and then leaning back on his chair until 
the two ends of the uprights dug into the plaster behind 
him, while the legs on which the fabric was poised cracked 
with his weight ; ‘ ‘ honor the saints ! we should be much 
more like to dishonor them ! What does any one want to 
honor a saint for ? A saint is but a human — a man like 
you and me, after all the fuss you make about ’em. Saints 
abound in my country, if you ’d believe people’s account of 
themselves.” 

‘ ‘ Not quite so. Signor Bolto. You and me no great saint ; 
Italian honor saint because he holy and good.” 

By this time Ithuel had got his two feet on the round of 
his seat, his knees spread so as to occupy as much space as 
an unusual length of leg would permit, and his arms ex- 
tended on the tops of two chairs, one on each side of him, in 
a way to resemble what is termed a spread eagle. 

Andrea Barrofaldi regarded all this with wonder. It is 
true, he expected to meet with no great refinement in a 
wine-house like that of Benedetta ; but he was unaccus- 
tomed to see such nonchalance of manner in a man of the 
stranger’s class, or, indeed, of any class ; the Italian mariners 
present occupying their chairs in simple and respectful at- 
titudes, as if each man had the wish to be as little obtrusive 
as possible. Still he let no sign of his surprise escape him, 
noting all that passed in a grave but attentive silence. 


52 




Perhaps he saw traces of national peciiliarities, if not of 
national history, in the circumstances. 

“Honor saint because he holy and good !” said Ithuel, 
with a very ill-concealed disdain, “why, that is the very 
reason why we don't honor ’em. When you honor a holy 
man, mankind may consait you do it on that very account, 
and so fall into the notion you worship him, which would be 
idolatry, the awfulest of all sins, and the one to which every 
ra’al Christian gives the widest bairth. I would rayther 
worship this flask of wine any day, than worship the best 
saint on your parsons’ books. ’ ’ 

As Filippo was no casuist, but merely a believer, and 
Ithuel applied the end of the flask to his mouth, at that mo- 
ment, from an old habit of drinking out of jugs and bottles, 
the Genoese made no answer ; keeping his eyes on the flask, 
which, by the length of time it remained at the other’s 
mouth, appeared to be in great danger of being exhausted ; a 
matter of some moment to one of his own relish for the liquor. 

“Do you call this wine!” exclaimed Ithuel, when he 
stopped literally to take breath ; “ there is n’t as much true 
granite in a gallon on ’t as in a pint of our cider. I could 
swallow a butt, and then walk a plank as narrow as your 
religion, Philip-o I ” 

This was said, nevertheless, with a look of happiness 
which proved how much the inward man was consoled by 
what it had received, and a richness of expression about the 
handsome mouth, that denoted a sort of consciousness that 
it had been the channel of a most agreeable communication 
to the stomach. Sooth to say, Benedetta had brought up a 
flask at a paul, or at about four cents a bottle ; a flask of 
the very quality which she had put before the vice-governa- 
tore : and this was a liquor that flowed so smoothly over 
the palate, and of a quality so really delicate, that Ithuel 
was by no means aware of the potency of the guest which 
he had admitted to his interior. 

All this time the vice-governatore was making up his 
mind concerning the nation and character of the stranger. 
That he should mistake Bolt for an Englishman was natural 
enough, and the fact had an influence in again unsettling 


Mtiig^anb::=Mina 


53 


his opinion as to the real flag under which the lugger sailed, 
lyike most Italians of that day, he regarded all the families 
of the northern hordes as a species of barbarians, an opinion 
that the air and deportment of Ithuel had no direct agency 
in changing ; for, while this singular being was not brawl- 
ingly rude and vulgar, like the coarser set of his own coun- 
trymen, with whom he had occasionally been brought in 
contact, he was so manifestly uncivilized in many material 
points, as to put his claim to gentility much beyond a cavil, 
and that in a negative way. 

“You are a Genoese?” said Andrea to Filippo, speaking 
with the authority, of one who had a right to question. 

“Signore, I am, at your Kccellenza’s orders, though in 
foreign service at this present moment.” 

‘ ‘ In what service, friend ? I am in authority, here in 
Elba, and ask no more than is my duty. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Eccellenza, I can well believe this, ’ ’ answered Filippo, 
rising and making a respectful salutation, and one, too, that 
was without any of the awkwardness of the same act in a 
more northern man, “ as it is to be seen in your appearance. 
I am now in the service of the king of England.” 

Filippo said this steadily, though his eyes dropped to 
the floor, under the searching scrutiny they endured. The 
answer of the vice-govematore was delivered coolly, though 
it was much to the point. 

“You are happy,” he said, “in getting so honorable 
masters ; more especially as your own country has again 
fallen into the hands of the French. Every Italian heart 
must yearn for a government that has its existence and its 
motives on this side of the Alps.” 

‘ ‘ Signore, we are a republic to-day, and ever have been, 
you know. ’ ’ 

“Ay — such as it is. But your companion speaks no 
Italian ; he is an Inglese ? ’ ’ 

“No, Signore; an Americano: a sort of an Inglese and 
yet no Inglese, after all. He loves England very little, if 
I can judge by his discourse.” 

“ Un’ Americano ! ” repeated Andrea Barrofaldi ; “Amer- 
icano ! ’ ’ exclaimed Vito Viti ; ‘ ‘ Americano ! ’ ’ said eadi of 


54 




the mariners in succession, every eye turning with lively 
curiosity towards the subject of the discourse, who bore it 
all with appropriate steadiness and dignity. The reader is 
not to be surprised that an American was then regarded 
with curiosity, in a country like Italy ; for, two years later, 
when an American ship of war was anchored suddenly be- 
fore the town of Constantinople, and announced her nation, 
the authorities of the Sublime Porte were ignorant that such 
a country existed. It is true, Teghom was beginning to be 
much frequented by American ships, in the year 1799 ; but 
even with these evidences before their eyes, the people of 
the very ports into which these traders entered, were accus- 
tomed to consider their crews a species of Englishmen, who 
managed to sail the vessels for the negroes at home.' In a 
word, two centuries and a half of national existence, and 
more than half a century of national independence, have 
not yet sufficed to teach all the inhabitants of the Old World, 
that the great modern republic is peopled by men of a Euro- 
pean origin, and possessing white skins. Even of those 
who are aware of the fact, the larger proportion, perhaps, 
have obtained their information through works of a light 
character, similar to this of our own, rather than by the 
more legitimate course of regular study, and a knowledge 
of history. 

“Si,” repeated Ithuel, with emphasis, as soon as he heard 
his nationality thus alluded to, and found all eyes on him- 
self; “si, oon Americano: I’m not ashamed of my coun- 
try ; and if you ’re any way partic’lar in such matters, I 
come from New Hampshire, or, what we call the Granite 
State. Tell ’ em this, Philip-o, and let me know their idees, 
in answer.” 

Eilippo translated this speech as well as he could, as he 
did the reply ; and it may as well be stated here, once for 

^ As recently as 1828, the author of this hook was at Leghorn. 
The Delaware, 80, had just left there ; and speaking of her appear- 
ance to a native of the place, who supposed the writer to be an Eng- 
lishman, the latter observed “ Of course, her people were all blacks?’' 
“I thought so, too. Signore, until I went on board the ship,” was 
the answer; “but they are as white as you and I are.” 




55 


all, that in the dialogue which succeeded, the instrumen- 
tality of this interpreter was necessary that the parties might 
understand each other. The reader will, therefore, give 
Filippo credit for this arrangement, although we shall fur- 
nish the different speeches very much as if the parties fully 
comprehended what was said. 

Uno stato di granito ! repeated the vice-governatore, 
looking at the podesta with some doubt in the expression of 
his countenance ; “it must be a painful existence which 
these poor people endure, to toil for their food in such a 
region. Ask him, good Filippo, if they have any wine in 
his part of the world.” 

“Wine!” echoed Ithuel ; “tell the Signore that we 
shouldn’t call this stuff wine at all. Nothing goes down 
our throats that does n’t rasp like a file, and burn like a 
chip out of Vesuvius. I wish, now, we had a drink of New 
England rum here, in order to show him the difference. 
I despise the man who thinks all his own things the best, 
just because they ’re his’n ; but taste is taste, a’ ter all, and 
there ’s no denying it.” 

‘ ‘ Perhaps the Signor Americano can give us an insight 
into the religion of his country ; or are the Americani 
pagans ? I do not remember, Vito, to have read anything 
of the religion of that quarter of the world. ’ ’ 

“Religion, too I well, a question like this, now, would 
make a stir among our folks in New Hampshire 1 Eook here. 
Signore; we don’t call your ceremonies, and images, and 
robes, and ringing of bells, and bowing and scraping, a 
religion at all ; any more than we should call this smooth 
liquor, wine.” 

Ithuel was more under the influence of this “smooth 
liquor ’ ’ than he was aware of, or he would not have been 
so loud in the expression of his dissent ; as experience had 
taught him the necessity of reserve on such subjects, in most 
Catholic communities. But of ali this the Signor Barrofaldi 
was ignorant, and he made his answer with the severity of a 
good Catholic, though it was with the temper of a gentleman. 

“What the Americano calls our ceremonies, and images, 
and ringing of bells, are probably not understood by him,” 


56 




he said ; “ since a country as little civilized as his own can 
not very well comprehend the mysteries of a profound and 
ancient religion.” 

‘ ‘ Civilized ! I calculate that it wotdd stump this part of 
the world to produce such a civilization as our very youngest 
children are brought up on. But it ’s of no use talking, and 
so we will drink.” 

Andrea perceiving, indeed, that there was not much use in 
talking, more especially as Filippo had been a good deal 
mystified by the word ‘ ‘ stump, ’ ’ was now disposed to aban- 
don the idea of a dissertation on ‘ ‘ religion, manners, and 
laws, ’ ’ to come at once to the matter that brought him into 
the present company. 

‘ ‘ This Americano is also a servant of the English king, it 
would seem, ’ ’ he carelessly remarked ; “I remember to have 
heard that there was a war between his country and that 
of the Inglesi, in which the French assisted the Americani 
to obtain a sort of national independence. What that in- 
dependence is, I do not know ; but it is probable that the 
people of the New World are still obliged to find mariners 
to serve in the navy of their former masters. ’ ’ 

Ithuel’s muscles twitched, and an expression of intense 
bitterness darkened his countenance. Then he smiled in a 
sort of derision, and gave vent to his feelings in words. 

“Perhaps you ’re right. Signore ; perhaps this is the real 
truth of the matter ; for the British do take our people just 
the same as if they had the best right in the world to ’em. 
After all, we may be serving our masters ; and all we say 
and think at home, about independence, is j ust a flash in the 
pan ! Notwithstanding, some on us contrive, by hook or 
by crook, to take our revenge when occasion offers ; and if 
I don’t sarve Master John Bull an ill turn, whenever luck 
throws a chance in my way, may I never see a bit of the old 
State again — granite or rotten wood. ’ ’ 

This speech was not very closely translated, but enough 
was said to awaken curiosity in the vice-go vernatore, who 
thought it odd one who served among the English should 
entertain such feelings towards them. As for Ithuel him- 
self, he had not observed his usual caution ; but, unknown 


M^nos*an^s=M^na 


57 


to himself, the oily wine had more “granite” in it than he 
imagined, and then he seldom spoke of the abuse of impress- 
ment without losing more or less of his ordinary self 
command. 

‘ ‘ Ask the Americano when he first entered into the service 
of the king of Inghilterra, ” said Andrea, “ and why he stays 
in it, if it is unpleasant to him, when so many opportunities 
of quitting it offer? ” 

“I never entered,” returned Ithuel, taking the word in 
its technical meaning ; ‘ ‘ they pressed me, as if I had been 
a dog they wanted to turn a spit, and kept me seven long 
years fighting their accursed battles, and otherwise sarving 
their eends. I was over here, last year, at the mouth of the 
Nile, and in that pretty bit of work — and off Cape St. Vin- 
cent, too — and in a dozen more of their battles, and sorely 
against my will, on every account. This was hard to be 
borne, but the hardest of it has not yet been said ; nor do I 
know that I shall tell on ’t at all.” 

‘ ‘ Anything the Americano may think proper to relate will 
be listened to with pleasure. ’ ’ 

Ithuel was a good deal undecided whether to go on or 
not ; but taking a fresh pull at the flask, it warmed his feel- 
ings to the sticking-point. 

“ Why, it was adding insult to injury. It ’s bad enough 
to injure a man, but when it comes to insulting him into the 
bargain, there must be little grit in his natur’ if it don’t 
strike fire. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ And yet few are wronged who are not calumniated, ’ ’ 
observed the philosophical vice-govematore. ‘ ‘ This is only 
too much the case with our Italy, worthy neighbor Vito 
Viti.” 

‘ ‘ I calculate the English treat all mankind alike, whether 
it ’s in Italy or Ameriky,” for so Ithuel would pronounce this 
word, notwithstanding he had now been cruising in and near 
the Mediterranean several years ; ‘ ‘ but what I found hard- 
est to be borne, was their running their rigs on me about 
my language and ways, which they were all the time 
laughing at as Yankee conversation and usages, while they 
pretended that the body out of which all on it come, was an 


58 




English body, and so they set it up to be shot at, by any of 
their inimies that might happen to be jogging along our 
road. Then, squire, it is generally consaited among us in 
Ameriky, that we speak much the best English a-going ; 
and sure am I, that none on us call a ‘ hog’ an ‘ ’og,’ an 
‘anchor,’ a ‘hanchor,’ or a ‘horse’ an ‘’orse.’ What is 
thought of that matter in this part of the world. Signor 
Squire?” 

‘ ‘ We are not critics in your language, but it is reasonable 
to suppose that the English speak their own tongue better 
than any other people. That much must be conceded to 
them, at least. Signor Bolto.” 

‘ ‘ I shall acknowledge no such advantage as belonging to 
them. I have not been to school for nothing ; not I. The 
English call c-l-e-r-k, dark; and c-u-c-u-m-b-e-r, cowcum- 
ber ; and a-n-g-e-1, aingel ; and no reasoning can convince 
me that ’s right. I ’ve got a string of words of this sort, 
that they pronounce out of all reason, that ’s as long as a 
pair of leading-lines, or a ship’s tiller-rope. You must 
know. Signor Squire, I kept school in the early part of my 
life.” 

‘ ‘ Non e possibile ! ’ ’ exclaimed the vice-governatore, aston- 
ishment actually getting the better of his habitual good 
breeding ; ‘ ‘ you must mean. Signor Americano, that you 
gave lessons in the art of rigging and sailing luggers. ’ ’ 

“You never was more mistaken. Signore. I taught on 
the general system, all sorts of things in the edication way ; 
and had one of my scholars made such a blunder as to say 
‘ dark,’ or ‘ aingel,’ or ‘ harth,’ or ‘ cowcumber,’ he would n’t 
have heard the last of it, for that week, at least. But I des- 
pise an Englishman from the very bottom of my soul ; for 
heart is n’t deep enough for my feelings.” 

Absurd as Ithuel’s critical dissertations must appear to all 
who have any familiarity with real English, they were not 
greatly below many criticisms on the same subject, that 
often illustrate the ephemeral literature of the country ; and, 
in his last speech, he had made a provincial use of the word 
“despise,” that is getting to be so common, as almost to 
supplant the true signification. By “despising,” Ithuel 


TKIlin0^anb=*Mina 


59 


meant that he “ hated the passion, perhaps, of all others, 
the most removed from the feeling described by the word he 
had used, inasmuch as it is not easy to elevate those for whom 
we have a contempt, to the level necessary to be hated. 

“ Notwithstanding, the Inglese are not a despisable peo- 
ple,*' answered Andrea, who was obliged to take the 
stranger literally, since he knew nothing of his provincial 
use of terms; “for a nation of the north, they have done 
marvellous things of late years, especially on the ocean.” 

This was more than Ithuel could bear. All his personal 
wrongs, and sooth to say they had been of a most grievous 
nature, arose before his mind, incited and inflamed by na- 
tional dislike ; and he broke out into such an incoherent tirade 
of abuse, as completely set all Tilippo’s knowledge of Kn^ 
glish at fault, rendering a translation impossible. By this 
time, Ithuel had swallowed so much of the wine, a liquor 
which had far more body than he supposed, that he was ripe 
for mischief, and it was only his extreme violence that pre- 
vented him from betraying more, than, just at the moment, 
would have been prudent. The vice-govematore listened 
with attention, in the hope of catching something useful ; but 
it all came to his ears a confused mass of incoherent vituper- 
ation, from which he could extract nothing. The scene, 
consequently, soon became unpleasant, and Andrea Barro- 
faldi took measures to put an end to it. Watching a favor- 
able occasion to speak, he put in a word, as the excited Bolt 
paused an instant, to take breath. 

“Signore,” observed the vice-govematore, “all this may 
be very true ; but as coming from one who serves the Inglese, 
to one who is the servant of their ally, the Grand Duke of 
Tuscany, it is quite as extraordinary as it is uncalled for ; 
and we will talk of other things. This lugger, on board 
which you sail, is out of all question English, notwithstand- 
ing what you tell us of the nation. ’ ’ 

“ Ay, she is English,” answered Ithuel, with a grim smile, 
“ and a pretty boat she is. But then it is no fault of hers, 
and what can’t be cured must be endured. A Guernsey 
craft, and a desperate goer, when she wakes up and puts on 
her travelling boots.” 


6o 


mim=^anC>^ming 


“These mariners have a language of their own,” re- 
marked Andrea to Vito Viti, smiling as in consideration of 
Ithuel’s nautical habits ; “ to you and me, the idea of a ves- 
sel’s using boots, neighbor, seems ridiculous ; but the sea- 
men, in their imaginations, bestow all sorts of objects on 
them. It is curious to hear them converse, good Vito ; and 
now I am dwelling here on our island, I have often thought 
of collecting a number of their images, in order to aid in illus- 
trating the sort of literature that belongs to their calling. 
This idea of a lugger’s putting on her boots is quite heroic.” 

Now Vito Viti, though an Italian with so musical a name, 
was no poet, but a man so very literal, withal, as to render 
him exceedingly matter-of-fact in most of his notions. Ac- 
cordingly, he saw no particular beauty in the idea of a ves- 
sel’s wearing boots ; and, though much accustomed to defer 
to the vice-governatore’s superior knowledge and more ex- 
tensive reading, he had the courage, on this occasion, to put 
in an objection to the probability of the circumstance men- 
tioned. 

“Signor Vice-govematore,” he replied, “all is not gold 
that glitters. Fine words sometimes cover poor thoughts, 
and, I take it, this is an instance of what I mean. Tong as 
I have lived in Porto Ferrajo, and that is now quite fifty 
years, seeing that I was born here, and have been off the 
island but four times in my life — and long, therefore, as I 
have lived here, I never saw a vessel in the harbor that wore 
boots, or even shoes.” 

“ This is metaphorical, good Vito, and must be looked at 
in a poetical point of view. Homer speaks of goddesses hold- 
ing shields before their favorite warriors ; while Ariosto 
makes rats and asses hold discourse together, as if they were 
members of an academy. All this is merely the effect of im- 
agination, Signore ; and he who has the most, is the aptest 
at inventing circumstances, which, though not strictly true, 
are vastly agreeable. ’ ’ 

“As for Homer and Ariosto, Signor Vice-govematore, I 
doubt if either ever saw a vessel with a boot on, or if either 
ever knew as much about craft in general, as we who live 
here in Porto Ferrajo. Harkee, friend Filippo, just ask this 


Trailng=anti»Ming 


6i 


Americano if, in his country, he ever saw vessels wear boots. 
Put the question plainly, and without any of your accursed 
poetry. ’ ’ 

Filippo did as desired, leaving Ithuel to put his own con- 
struction on the object of the inquiry ; all that had just passed 
being sealed to him, in consequence of its having been ut- 
tered in good Tuscan. 

‘ ‘ Boots ! ’ ’ repeated the native of the Granite State, look- 
ing round him drolly ; ‘ ‘ perhaps not exactly the foot- 

part, and the soles, for they ought, in reason, to be under 
water ; but every vessel that is n’t coppered shows her boot- 
top ; of them^ I ’ll swear I ’ve seen ten thousand, more or less.” 

This answer mystified the vice-governatore, and com- 
pletely puzzled Vito Viti. The grave mariners at the other 
table, too, thought it odd, for in no other tongue is the lan- 
guage of the sea as poetical, or figurative, as in the English ; 
and the term of boot-top, as applied to a vessel, was Greek to 
them, as well as to the other listeners. They conversed 
among themselves on the subject, while their two superiors 
were holding a secret conference on the other side of the 
room, giving the American time to rally his recollection, and 
remember the precise circumstances in which not only he 
himself, but all his shipmates, were placed. No one could 
be more wily and ingenious than this man, when on his 
guard, though the inextinguishable hatred with which he 
regarded England and Englishmen, had come so near caus- 
ing him to betray a secret which it was extremely important, 
at that moment, to conceal. At length a general silence pre- 
vailed, the different groups of speakers ceasing to converse, 
and all looking towards the vice-govematore, as if in expec- 
tation that he was about to suggest something that might 
give a turn to the discourse. Nor was this a mistake, for, 
after inquiring of Benedetta if she had a private room, he in- 
vited Ithuel and the interpreter to follow him into it, leading 
the way, attended by the podesta. As soon as these four were 
thus separated from the others, the door was closed, and the 
two Tuscans came at once to the point. 

“Signor Americano,” commenced the vice-govematore, 
‘ ‘ between those who understand each other, there is little 


62 




need of many words. This is a language which is compre- 
hended all over the world, and I put it before you in the 
plainest manner, that we may have no mistake.” 

” It is tolerable plain, sartain ! ” exclaimed Ithuel ; “ two 
— four — six — eight — ten ; all good-looking gold pieces, that 
in this part of the world you call zecchini^ or sequins, as 
we name ’em, in English. What have I done. Signor 
Squire, or what am I to do for these twenty dollars ? Name 
your tarms ; this working in the dark is agin the grain of 
my natur’ ! ” 

“You are to tell the truth ; we suspect the lugger of being 
Erench ; and by putting the proof in our hands, you will 
make us your friends, and serve yourself. ’ ’ 

Andrea Barrofaldi knew little of America and Ameri- 
cans, but he had imbibed the common European notion that 
money was the great deity worshipped in this hemisphere, 
and that all he had to do was to offer a bribe, in order to 
purchase a man of Ithuel’ s deportment and appearance. In 
his own island ten sequins would buy almost any mariner 
of the port to do any act short of positive legal criminality ; 
and the idea that a barbarian of the west would refuse such 
a sum, in preference to selling his shipmates, never crossed 
his mind. Tittle, however, did the Italian understand the 
American. A greater knave than Ithuel, in his own way, 
it was not easy to find ; but it shocked all his notions of 
personal dignity, self-respect, and republican virtue, to be 
thus unequivocally offered a bribe ; and had the lugger not 
been so awkwardly circumstanced, he would have been apt 
to bring matters to a crisis at once by throwing the gold into 
the vice-governatore’s face ; although, knowing where it was 
to be found, he might have set about devising some means 
of cheating the owner out of it at the very next instant. 
Boon or bribe, directly or unequivocally offered in the shape 
of money, as coming from the superior to the inferior, or 
from the corrupter to the corrupted, had he never taken, 
and it would have appeared in his eyes a species of degra- 
dation to receive the first, and of treason to his nationality 
to accept the last ; though he would lie, invent, manage, 
and contrive, from morning till night, in order to transfer 




63 


even copper from the pocket of his neighbor to his own, 
under the forms of opinion and usage. In a word, Ithuel, 
as relates to such things, was what is commonly called law- 
honest, with certain broad salvos, in favor of smuggling of 
all sorts, in foreign countries (at home he never dreamed of 
such a thing), custom-house oaths, and legal trickery ; and 
this is just the class of men apt to declaim the loudest 
against the roguery of the rest of mankind. Had there 
been a law giving half to the informer, he might not have 
hesitated to betray the lugger, and all she contained, more 
especially in the way of regular business ; but he had long 
before determined that every Italian was a treacherous 
rogue, and not at all to be trusted like an American rogue ; 
and then his indomitable dislike of England would have 
kept him true in a case of much less complicated risk than 
this. Commanding himself, however, and regarding the 
sequins with natural longing, he answered with a simplicity 
of manner that both surprised and imposed on the vice- 
govematore. 

“ No — no — Signor Squire,’^ he said ; “in the first place, 
I ’ve no secret to tell ; and it would be a trickish thing to 
touch your money and not give you its worth in return ; 
and then the lugger is Guernsey built, and carries a good 
King George’s commission. In my part of the world we 
never take gold unless we sell something of equal valie. 
Gifts and begging we look upon as mean and unbecoming, 
and the next thing to going onto the town as a pauper ; 
though if I can sarve you lawfully, like, I ’m just as willing 
to work ior your money as for that of any other man. I ’ve 
no preference for kings in that partic’lar.” 

All this time Ithuel held out the sequins, with a show of 
returning them, though in a very reluctant manner, leaving 
Andrea, who comprehended his actions much better than 
his words, to understand that he declined selling his secret. 

“You can keep the money, friend,” observed the vice- 
govematore, “ for when we give, in Italy, it is not our 
practice to take the gift back again. In the morning, per- 
haps, you will remember something that it may be useful 
for me to know. ’ ’ 


64 




“I’ve no occasion for gifts, nor is it exactly accordin’ to 
the Granite rule to accept ’em,” answered Ithuel, a little 
sharply. ‘ ‘ Handsome conduct is handsome conduct ; and I 
call the fellow-creetur’ that would oppress and overcome 
another with a gift, little better than an English aristocrat. 
Hand out the dollars in the way of trade, in as large 
amounts as you will, and I will find the man, and that, too, 
in the lugger, who will see you out in ’t to your heart’s 
content. Harkee, Philip-o ; tell the gentleman, in an 
undertone, like, about the three kegs of tobacco we got out 
of the Virginy ship the day we made the north end of Cor- 
sica, and perhaps that will satisfy him we are not his ene- 
mies. There is no use in bawling it out so that the woman 
can hear what you say, or the men who are drinking in the 
other room.” 

“Signor Ithuello,” answered the Genoese, in English, “it 
will no do to let these gentlemen know anything of them 
kegs — one being the deputy-governor and the other a 
magistrate. The lugger will be seized for a smuggler, 
which will be the next thing to being seized for an 
enemy.” 

“ Yet I ’ve a longing for them ’ere sequins, to tell you the 
truth, Philip-0 ! I see no other means of getting at ’em, 
except it be through them three kegs of tobacco. ’ ’ 

“ Why you don’t take ’em, when the Signore put ’em into 
your very hand ? All you do is put him in your pocket, and 
say, ‘ Eccellenza, what you please to wish ? ’ ” 

“ That isn’t Granite, man, but more in the natur’ of you 
Italians. The most disgraceful thing on ’airth is a paupe,” 
— so Ithuel pronounced “pauper,” — “the next is a street- 
beggar; after him comes your chaps who take sixpences 
and shillin’ s, in the way of small gifts ; and last of all an 
Englishman. All these I despise ; but let this Signor say 
but the word, in the way of trade, and he ’ll find me as 
ready and expairt as he can wish. I ’d defy the devil in a 
trade ! ” 

Filippo shook his head, positively declining to do so 
foolish a thing as to mention a contraband article to those 
whose duty it would be to punish a violation of the revenue 


Mi«g»anb*Mtn0 


6s 


laws. In the meanwhile the sequins remained in the hands 
of Andrea Barrofaldi, who seemed greatly at a loss to 
understand the character of the strange being whom chance 
had thus thrown in his way. The money was returned to 
his purse, but his distrust and doubts were by no means 
removed. 

“Answer me one thing, Signor Bolto,” asked the vice- 
govematore, after a minute of thought ; “if you hate the 
English so much, why do you serve in their ships ? why not 
quit them on the first good occasion ? The land is as wide 
as the sea, and you must be often on it. ’ ’ 

“ I calculate. Signor Squire, you don’t often study charts, 
or you wouldn’t fall into such a consait. There ’s twice as 
much water as solid ground, on this airth, to begin with ; as 
in reason there ought to be, seeing that an acre of good 
productive land is worth five or six of ocean ; and then you 
have little knowledge of my character and prospects to ask 
such a question. I sarve the king of England to make him 
pay well for it. If you want to take an advantage of a 
man, first get him in debt ; then you can work your will on 
him, in the most profitable and safe manner ! ’’ 

All this was unintelligible to the vice-governatore, who, 
after a few more questions and answers, took a civil 
leave of the strangers, intimating to Benedetta that they 
were not to follow him back into the room he had just 
quitted. 

As for Ithuel, the disappearance of the two gentlemen 
gave him no concern ; but as he felt that it might be unsafe 
to drink any more wine, he threw down his reckoning, and 
strolled into the street, followed by his companion. Within 
an hour from that moment, the three kegs of tobacco were 
in the possession of a shopkeeper of the place, that brief 
interval sufficing to enable the man to make his bargain, 
and to deliver the articles, which was his real object on 
shore. This little smuggling transaction was carried on 
altogether without the knowledge of Raoul Yvard, who was 
to all intents and purposes the captain of his own lugger, 
and in whose character there were many traits of chivalrous 
honor, mixed up with habits and pursuits that would not 


66 




seem to promise qualities so elevated. But this want of a 
propensity to turn [a. penny in his own way, was not the 
only distinguishing characteristic between the commander 
of the little craft, and the being he occasionally used as a 
mark to his true purposes. 




CHAPTER V. 

** The great contention of the sea and skies 
Parted our fellowship. But, hark ! a sail ! 

Cassw, 

W HATEVER may have been the result of the 
vice-govematore’s further inquiries and specu- 
lations that night, they were not known. 
After consuming an hour in the lower part of 
the town, in and around the port, he and the podesta sought 
their homes and their pillows, leaving the lugger riding 
quietly at her anchor in the spot where she was last pre- 
sented to the reader’s attention. If Raoul Yvard and Ghita 
had another interview, too, it was so secretly managed 
as to escape all observation, and can form no part of this 
narrative. 

A Mediterranean morning, at midsummer, is one of those 
balmy and soothing periods of the day, that affect the mind 
as well as the body. Everywhere we have the mellow and 
advancing light that precedes the appearance of the sun, 
the shifting hues of the sky, that pearly softness that seems 
to have been invented to make us love the works of God’s 
hand, and the warm glow of the brilliant sun ; but it is not 
everywhere that these fascinating changes occur, on a sea 
whose blue vies with the darkest depths of the void of 
space, beneath a climate that is as winning as the scenes 
it adorns, and amid mountains whose faces reflect every 
varying shade of light, with the truth and the poetry of 
nature. Such a morning as this last, was that which suc- 
ceeded the night with which our tale opened, bringing with 
it the reviving movements of the port and town. Italy, as a 

67 



68 




whole, is remarkable for an appearance of quiet and repose, 
that are little known in the more bustling scenes of the 
greedier commerce of our own quarter of the world, or, in- 
deed, in those of most of the northern nations of Europe. 
There is in her aspect, modes of living, and even in her 
habits of business, an air of decayed gentility, that is want- 
ing to the ports, shops, and marts of the more vulgar parts 
of the world ; as if conscious of having been so long the 
focus of human refinement, it was unbecoming, in these later 
days, to throw aside all traces of her history and power. Man, 
and the climate, too, seem in unison ; one meeting the cares of 
life with a far niente manner, that is singularly in accordance 
with the dreamy and soothing atmosphere he respires. 

Just as day dawned, the fall of a billet of wood on the 
deck of the Feu-Follet, gave the first intimation that any 
one was stirring in or near the haven. If there had been a 
watch on board that craft throughout the night — and doubt- 
less such had been the case — it had been kept in so quiet 
and unobtrusive a manner, as to render it questionable to 
the jealous eyes which had been riveted on her from the 
shore until long past midnight. Now, however, everything 
was in motion, and in less than five minutes after that billet 
of wood had fallen from the hands of the cook, as he was 
about to light his galley fire, the tops of the hats and caps 
of some fifty or sixty sailors were seen moving to and fro, 
just above the upper edge of the bulwarks. Three minutes 
later, and two men appeared near the knight-heads, each 
with his arms folded, looking at the vessel’s hawse, and 
taking a survey of the state of the harbor, and of objects on 
the surrounding shore. 

The two individuals who were standing in the conspicu- 
ous position named, were Raoul Yvard himself, and Ithuel 
Bolt. Their conversation was in French, the part borne by 
the last being most execrably pronounced, and pa3dng little 
or no attention to grammar ; but it is necessary that we 
should render what was said by both into the vernacular, 
with the peculiarities that belonged to the men. 

“I see only the Austrian that is worth the trouble of a 
movement,” quietly observed Raoul, whose eye was scan- 




69 


ning the inner harbor, his own vessel lying two hundred 
yards without it, it will be remembered, “and she is light, 
and would scarce pay for sending her to Toulon. These 
feluccas would embarrass us, without affording much re- 
ward, and then their loss would ruin the poor devils of 
owners, and bring misery into many a family.” 

“Well, that’s a new idee, for a privateer ! ” said Ithuel, 
sneeringly; “luck’s luck, in these matters, and every man 
must count on what war turns up. I wish you ’d read the 
history of our revolution, and then you’d ha’ seen that lib- 
erty and equality are not to be had without some ups and 
downs in fortin’s and chances.” 

“The Austrian might do,” added Raoul, who paid little 
attention to his companion’s remarks, “if he were a streak 
or two lower in the water ; but, after all, E-too-^//, ’ ’ for so 
he pronounced the other’s name, “ I do not like a capture 
that is made without any iclat^ or spirit, in the attack and 
defence.” 

“ Well,” — this word Ithuel invariably pronounced 
“wa-a-1,” — “well, to my notion, the most profitable and 
the most agreeable battles are the shortest ; and the pleas- 
antest victories are them in which there’s the most prize 
money. Howsever, as that brig is only an Austrian, I care 
little what you may detairmine to do with her ; was she 
English, I ’d head a boat myself, to go in and tow her out 
here, expressly to have the satisfaction of burning her. 
English ships make a cheerful fire ! ” 

“And that would be a useless waste of property, and 
perhaps of blood, and would do no one any good, Etoo^//.” 

‘ ‘ But it would do the accursed English harm, and that 
counts for a something, in my reckoning. Nelson wasn’t so 
over-scrupulous, at the Nile, about burning your ships, Mr. 
Rule—” 

“ Tonnerre ! why do you always bring in that malheureux 
Nile? Is it not enough that we were beaten — disgraced 
— destroyed, that a friend must tell us of it so often ? ” 

“You forget, Mr. Rule, that I was an inimy, then,” re- 
turned Ithuel, with a grin and a grim smile. “If you’ll 
take the trouble to examine my back, you ’ll find on it the 


70 




marks of tke lashes I got for just telling my captain that it 
was agin the grain for me, a republican as I was by idee and 
natur’, to fight other republicans. He told me he would 
first try the grain of my skin, and see how that would agree 
with what he called my duty ; and I must own, he got the 
best on ’t ; I fit like a tiger agin you, rather than be flogged 
twice the same day. Flogging on a sore back is an awful 
argument ! ’ ’ 

“ And now has come the hour for revenge, pauvre Etooell; 
this time you are on the right side, and may fight with heart 
and mind those you so much hate.” 

A long and gloomy silence followed, during which Raoul 
turned his face aft, and stood looking at the movements of 
the men as they washed the decks, while Ithuel seated him- 
self on a knight-head, and, his chin resting on his hand, he 
sat ruminating, in bitterness of spirit, like Milton’s devil, 
in some of his dire cogitations, on the atrocious wrong of 
which he had really been the subject. Bodies of men are 
proverbially heartless. They commit injustice without re- 
flection, and vindicate their abuses without remorse. And 
yet it may be doubtful if either a nation or an individual 
ever tolerated or was an accessory in a wrong, that the act, 
sooner or later, did not recoil on the offending party, through 
that mysterious principle of right which is implanted in the 
nature of things, bringing forth its own results as the seed 
produces its grain, and the tree its fruits ; a supervision of 
holiness that it is usual to term (and rightly enough, when 
we remember who created principles) the providence of 
God. Fet that people dread the future, who, in their col- 
lective capacity, systematically encourage injustice of any 
sort ; since their own eventual demoralization will follow as 
a necessary consequence, even though they escape punish- 
ment in a more direct form. 

We shall not stop to relate the moody musings of the 
New Hampshire man. Unnurtured, and, in many respects, 
unprincipled as he was, he had his clear conceptions of the 
injustice of which he had been one among thousands of other 
victims ; and, at that moment, he would have held life itself 
as a cheap sacrifice, could he have had his fill of revenge. 


MtnG=*anb*=TKIling 


71 


Time and again, while a captive on board the English ship 
in which he had been immured for years, had he meditated 
the desperate expedient of blowing up the vessel ; and had 
not the means been wanting, mercenary and selfish as he 
ordinarily seemed, he was every way equal to executing so 
dire a scheme, in order to put an end to the lives of those 
who were the agents in wronging him, and his own suffer- 
ings, together. The subject never recurred to his mind, 
without momentarily changing the current of its thoughts, 
and tinging all his feelings with an intensity of bitterness 
that it was painful to bear. At length, sighing heavily, he 
rose from the knight-head, and turned towards the mouth of 
the bay, as if to conceal from Raoul the expression of his 
countenance. This act, however, was scarcely done, ere he 
started, and an exclamation escaped him, that induced his 
companion to turn quickly on his heel, and face the sea. 
There, indeed, the growing light enabled both to discover an 
object that could scarcely be other than one of interest to 
men in their situation. 

It has been said already, that the deep bay, on the side 
of which stands the town of Porto Ferrajo, opens to the 
north, looking in the direction of the headland of Piombino. 
On the right of the bay, the land, high and broken, stretches 
several miles ere it forms what is called the canal, while, 
on the left, it terminates with the low bluff on which stands 
the residence then occupied by Andrea Barrofaldi ; and 
which has since become so celebrated as the abode of one 
far greater than the worthy vice-govematore. The haven 
lying under these heights, on the left of the bay, and by the 
side of the town, it followed, as a matter of course, that the 
anchorage of the lugger was also in this quarter of the bay, 
commanding a clear view to the north, in the direction of 
the mainland, as far as the eye can reach. The width of 
the canal, or of the passage between Elba and the Point of 
Piombino, may be some six or seven miles ; and at the dis- 
tance of less than one mile from the northern end of the 
former, stands a small rocky islet, which has since become 
known to the world as the spot on which Napoleon stationed 
a corporal’s guard, by way of taking possession, when he 


72 




found his whole empire dwindled to the sea-girt mountains 
in its vicinity. With the existence and position of this is- 
land both Raoul and Ithuel were necessarily acquainted, for 
they had seen it and noted its situation the previous night, 
though it had escaped their notice that, from the place where 
the Feu-Follet had brought up, it was not visible. In their 
first look to seaward, that morning, which was ere the light 
had grown sufficiently strong to render the houses on the 
opposite side of the bay distinct, an object had been seen in 
this quarter, which had then been mistaken for the rock ; 
but, by this time, the light was strong enough to show that 
it was a very different thing. In a word, that which both 
Raoul and Ithuel had fancied an islet, was neither more nor 
less than a ship. 

The stranger’s head was to the northward, and his motion, 
before a light southerly air, could not have exceeded a knot 
an hour. He had no other canvas spread than his three 
topsails and jib ; though his courses were hanging in the 
brails. His black hull was just beginning to show its de- 
tails ; and along the line of light yellow that enlivened his 
side, were visible the dark intervals of thirteen ports ; a real 
gun frowning in each. Although the hammocks were not 
stowed, and the hammock-cloths had that empty and un- 
dressed look which is so common to a man-of-war in the 
night, it was apparent that the ship had an upper deck, with 
quarter-deck and forecastle batteries ; or, in other words, 
that she was a frigate. As she had opened the town of 
Porto Ferrajo several minutes before she was herself seen 
from the Feu-Follet, an ensign was hanging from the end of 
her gaff, though there was not sufficient air to open its folds, 
in a way to let the national character of the stranger be 
known. 

“Peste!” exclaimed Raoul Yvard, as soon as he had 
gazed a minute at the stranger, in silence ; “ a pretty cul-de- 
sac are we in, if that gentleman should happen to be an 
Englishman ! What say you, Etooell ; can you make out 
anything of that ensign? your eyes are the best in the 
lugger.” 

“ It is too much for any sight to detairmine, at this dis- 




73 


tance, and that before the sun is risen ; but by having a 
glass ready, we shall soon know. Five minutes will bring 
us the Great Fuminary, as our minister used to call him.” 

Ithuel had descended from the bulwark, while speaking ; 
and he now went aft in quest of a glass, returning to his old 
station, bringing two of the instruments ; one of which he 
handed to his commander, while he kept the other himself. 
In another minute both had levelled their glasses at the 
stranger, whom each surveyed attentively, for some time, in 
profound silence. 

Par die ! ” exclaimed Raoul, “ that ensign is the tricolor, 
or my eyes are untrue to my own country. Fet me see, 
Btooell ; what ship of forty-two, or forty- four, has the repub- 
lic on this coast?” 

“Not that^ Monsieur Yvard,” answered Ithuel, with a 
manner so changed, and an emphasis so marked, as at once 
to draw his companion’s attention from the frigate to his 
own countenance ; ‘ ‘ not that^ Monsieur Capitaing. It is 
not easy for a bird to forget the cage in which he was shut 
up for two years ; if that is not the acciursed Proserpine, I 
have forgotten the cut of my own jib ! ” 

‘ ‘ Fa Proserpine ? ’ ’ repeated Raoul, who was familiar 
with his shipmate’s adventures, and did not require to be 
told his meaning; “if you are not mistaken, Btooell, Be 
Feu-Follet needs put her lantern under a shade. This is 
only a forty, if I can count her ports.” 

‘ ‘ I care nothing for ports or guns ; it is the Proserpine ; 
and the only harm I wish her is, that she were at the bot- 
tom of the ocean. The Proserpine, thirty-six. Captain 
Cuffe ; though Captain Flog would have been a better name 
for him. Yes, the Proserpine, thirty-six. Captain Cuffe, 
Heaven bless her ! ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Bah ! this vessel has forty-four guns — now I can see to 
count them ; I make twenty- two of a side.” 

“ Ay, that ’s just her measure, a thirty-six on the list and 
by rate, and forty-four by count ; twenty-six long eighteens 
below ; twelve thirty-twos, carronades, on her quarter-deck ; 
and four more carronades, with two barkers, for’ard. She ’d 
just extinguish your Jack-o’-Bantem, Monsieur Rule, at one 


74 




broadside; for what are ten twelve-pound carronades, and 
seventy men, to such a frigate ? ’ ’ 

“I am not madman enough, Btooell, to dream of fight- 
ing a frigate, or even a heavy sloop-of-war, with the force 
you have just mentioned ; but I have followed the sea too 
long to be alarmed before I am certain of my danger. Ba 
Railleuse is just such a ship as that.” 

“Hearken to reason. Monsieur Rule,” answered Ithuel, 
earnestly; “La Railleuse, nor no other French frigate, 
would show her colors to an enemy’s port ; for it would be 
uselessly telling her errand. Now, an English ship might 
show a French ensign, for she always has it in her power to 
change it ; and then she might be benefited by the cheat. 
The Proserpine is French built, and has French legs, too, 
boots or no boots, ’ ’ — here Ithuel laughed a little, involun- 
tarily, but his face instantly became serious again, — ‘ ‘ and I 
have heard she was a sister vessel of the other. So much 
for size and appearance ; but every shroud, and port, and 
sail, about yonder craft, is registered on my back in a way 
that no sponge will ever wash out. ’ ’ 

“ Sa-a-c-r-r-r-e,” muttered Raoul between his teeth; 
“Btooell, if an Englishman, he may very well take it 
into his head to come in here, and perhaps anchor within 
half-a-cable’s length of us ! What think you of that, mon 
brave Amiricain .^ ” 

“ That it may very well come to pass ; though one hardly 
sees, either, what is to bring a cruiser into such a place as 
this. Every one hasn’t the curiosity of a Jack-o’ -Lantern.” 

Mais que diahle allait-il faire dans cette galore ! Bien ! 
we must take the weather as it comes ; sometimes a gale, 
and sometimes a calm. As he shows his own ensign so loy- 
ally, let us return the compliment, and show ours. Hoist 
the ensign there, aft. ’ ’ 

“ Which one. Monsieur ! ” demanded an old, demure-look- 
ing quartermaster, who was charged with that duty, and 
who was never known to laugh ; “the captain will remem- 
ber we came into port under the drapeau of Monsieur Jean 
Bull.” 

''Bien ! hoist the drapeau of Monsieur Jean Bull again. 




75 


We must brazen it out, now we have put on the mask. 
Monsieur Ivieutenant, clap on the hawser, and run the lug- 
ger ahead, over her anchor, and see everything clear for 
spreading our pocket-handkerchiefs. No one knows when 
I^e Feu-Follet may have occasion to wipe her face. Ah ! 
now, Ktooell, we can make out his broadside fairly ; he is 
heading more to the westward.” 

The two seamen levelled their glasses, and renewed their 
examinations. Ithuel had a peculiarity that not only char- 
acterized the man, but which is so common among Ameri- 
cans of his class, as in a sense to be national. On ordinary 
occasions he was talkative, and disposed to gossip ; but, 
whenever action and decision became necessary, he was 
thoughtful, silent, and, though in a way of his own, even 
dignified. This last fit was on him, and he waited for Raoul 
to lead the conversation. The other, however, was disposed 
to be as reserved as himself, for he quitted the knight-head, 
and took refuge from the splashing of the water, used in 
washing the decks, in his own cabin. 

Two hours, though they brought the sun, with the 
activity and hum of the morning, had made no great change 
in the relative position of things within and without the 
bay. The people of Te Feu-Follet had breakfasted, had got 
everything on board their little craft in its proper place, and 
were moody, observant, and silent. One of the lessons that 
Ithuel had succeeded in teaching his shipmates, was to im- 
press on them the necessity of commanding their voluble 
propensities, if they would wish to pass for Englishmen. It 
is certain more words would have been uttered, in this little 
lugger, in one hour, had her crew been indulged to the top 
of their bent, than would have been uttered in an English 
first-rate, in two ; but the danger of using their own lan- 
guage, and the English peculiarity of grumness, had been 
so thoroughly taught them, that her people rather carica- 
tured, than otherwise, ce grand talent pour le silence^ that 
was thought to distinguish their enemies. Ithuel, who had 
a waggery of his own, smiled as he saw the seamen folding 
their arms, throwing discontent and surliness into their 
countenances, and pacing the deck singly, as if misan- 


76 




thropical and disdaining to converse, whenever a boat came 
alongside from the shore. Several of these visitors arrived, 
in the course of the two hours mentioned ; but the sentinel 
at the gangway, who had his orders, repulsed every attempt 
to come on board, pretending not to understand French, 
when permission was asked in that language. 

Raoul had a boat’s crew of four, all of whom had acquired 
the English, like himself, in a prison-ship, and with these 
men he now prepared to land ; for, as yet, he had made little 
progress in the business which brought him into his present 
awkward predicament, and he was not a man to abandon 
an object so dear to him, lightly. Finding himself in a 
dilemma, he was resolved to make an effort to reap, if possi- 
ble, some advantage from his critical situation. Accordingly, 
after he had taken his coffee, and given his orders, the boat’s 
crew was called, and he left the lugger’s side. All this was 
done tranquilly, as if the appearance of the stranger in the 
of&ng gave no trouble to any in Le Feu-Follet. 

On this occasion the boat pulled boldly into the little har- 
bor, its officer touching the shore at the common landing. 
Nor were the men in any haste to return. They lounged 
about the quay, in waiting for their captain, cheapening 
fruits, chatting with the women in such Italian as they could 
muster, and affecting to understand the French of the old 
sea-dogs that drew near them, all of whom knew more or 
less of that universal language, with difficulty. That they 
were the objects of suspicion, their captain had sufficiently 
warned them, and practice rendered them all good actors. 
The time they remained in waiting for Raoul was conse- 
quently spent in eluding attempts to induce them to betray 
themselves, and in caricaturing Englishmen. Two of the 
four folded their arms, endeavored to look surly, and paced 
the quay in silence, refusing even to unbend to the blan- 
dishments of the gentler sex, three or four of whom 
endeavored to insinuate themselves into their confidence, 
by offerings of fruit and flowers. 

“Amico,” said Annunziate, one of the prettiest girls of 
her class in Porto Ferrajo, and who had been expressly 
employed by Vito Viti to perform this office, “ here are figs 




77 


from the mainland. Will you please to eat a few, that 
when you go back to Inghilterra, you may tell your coun- 
trymen how we poor Elbans live ? ” 

“Bad fig!” sputtered Jacques, Raoul’s cockswain, to 
whom this offering was made, and speaking in broken 
English ; “better at ’ome. Pick up better in ze street of 
Portsmout’ 1 ” 

“But, Signore, you need not look as if they would hurt 
you, or bite you ; you can eat them, and, take my word for 
it, you will find them as pleasant as the melons of Napoli 1 ” 
“No melon good but English melon. English melon 
plenty as pomme de terres — bah ! ’ ’ 

“Yes, Signore, as the melons of Napoli,” continued 
Annunziate, who did not understand a syllable of the 
ungracious answers she received ; ‘ ‘ Signor Vito Viti, our 
podest^ ordered me to offer these figs to the forestieri — the 
Inglesi, who are in the bay — ’ ’ 

“God-dam!” returned Jacques, in a quick, sententious 
manner, that was intended to get rid of the fair tormentor, 
and which, temporarily at least, was not without its effect. 

But, leaving the boat’s crew to be badgered in this man- 
ner, until relief came, as will be hereafter related, we must 
follow our hero in his way through the streets of the town. 
Raoul, guided by an instinct, or having some special object 
before his eyes, walked swiftly up the heights, ascending to 
the promontory, so often mentioned. As he passed, every 
eye was turned on him, for, by this time, the distrust in the 
place was general ; and the sudden appearance of a frigate, 
wearing a French ensign, before the port, had given rise to 
apprehensions of a much more serious nature than any 
which could possibly attend the arrival of a craft as light 
as the lugger, by herself. Vito Viti had long before gone 
up the street, to see the vice-governatore ; and eight or ten 
of the principal men of the place had been summoned to a 
council, including the two senior military dignitaries of the 
island. The batteries, it was known, were manned ; and 
although it would have puzzled the acutest mind of Elba to 
give a reason why the French should risk so unprofitable an 
attack as one on their principal port, long ere Raoul was 


78 


XKIl^ng:*an^s'TOl^no 


seen among them such a result was not only dreaded, but in 
a measure anticipated with confidence. As a matter of 
course, then, every eye followed his movements as he went 
with bounding steps up the narrow terraces of the steep 
street, and the least of his actions was subjected to the 
narrowest and most jealous scrutiny. 

The heights were again thronged with spectators of all 
ages and classes, and of both sexes. The mantles and flowing 
dresses of females prevailed, as usual ; for whatever is con- 
nected with curiosity is certain to collect an undue propor- 
tion of a sex whose imaginations are so apt to get the start of 
their judgments. On a terrace in front of the palace, as it 
was the custom to designate the dwelling of the governor, 
was the group of magnates, all of them paying the gravest 
attention to the smallest change in the direction of the ship, 
which had now become an object of general solicitude and 
apprehension. So intent, indeed, were they in gazing at this 
apprehended enemy, that Raoul stood in front of Andrea Bar- 
rofaldi, cap in hand, and bowing his salutation, before his 
approach was even anticipated. This sudden and unan- 
nounced arrival created great surprise, and some little confu- 
sion ; one or two of the group turning away instinctively, 
as it might be, to conceal the flushes that mounted to 
their cheeks at being so unexpectedly confronted by the very 
man whom the minute before they had been strongly 
denouncing. 

''Bon giornoy Signor Vice-go veniatore, ” commenced 
Raoul, in his gay, easy, and courteous manner, certainly 
with an air that betrayed any feeling but those of apprehen- 
sion and guilt : “we have a fine morning on the land, here ; 
and apparently a fine frigate of the French republic in the 
offing yonder.” 

“ We were conversing of that vessel, Signor Smees,” an- 
swered Andrea, “ as you approached. What, in your judg- 
ment, can induce a Frenchman to appear before our town in 
so menacing a manner ? ’ ’ 

“ Cospetto ! you might as well ask me. Signore, what in- 
duces these republicans to do a thousand other out-of-the- 
way things. What has made them behead Touis XVI. ? 


M^na^an^^Xlmtna 


79 


What has made them overrun half of your Italy, conquer 
Bgypt, and drive the Austrians back upon their Danube ? ” 

“To say nothing of their letting Nelsoni destroy them at 
Aboukir,” added Vito Viti, with a grunt. 

‘ ‘ True, Signore, or letting Nelson, my gallant country- 
man, annihilate them near the mouth of the Nile. I did not 
consider it proper to boast of English glory, though that 
case, too, may very well be included. We have several men 
in ze Ving-and-Ving who were in that glorious battle, partic- 
ularly our sailing-master, Etooell Bolt, who was on board 
Nelson’s own ship, having been accidentally sent on service 
from the frigate to which he properly belonged, and carried 
off expressly to share, as might be, in the glory of this 
famous battle. ’ ’ 

“ I have seen the Signore,” dryly remarked Andrea Bar- 
rofaldi ; uno Americano 

“An American!” exclaimed Raoul, starting a little in 
spite of his assumed indifference of manner ; ‘ ‘ why, yes, I 
believe Bolt was bom in America — English America, you 
know. Signori, and that is much the same thing as having 
been born in England herself. We look upon ze Yankis as 
but a part of our own people, and take them into our service 
most cheerfully . ’ ’ 

> “So the Signor Ituello has given us reason to believe ; he 
is seemingly a great lover of the English nation.” 

I Raoul was uneasy ; for he was entirely ignorant of all that 
had passed in the wine-house, and he thought he detected 
j irony in the manner of the vice-govematore. 

1 ‘ ‘ Certainly, Signore, ’ ’ he answered, however, with un- 

moved steadiness ; ‘ ‘ certainly. Signore, the Americani adore 
Inghilterra ; and well they may, considering all that great 
nation has done for them. But Signor Vice-governatore, I 
have come to offer you the service of my lugger, should this 
Frenchman really intend mischief. We are small, it is 
tme, and our guns are but light ; nevertheless we may break 
the fiigate’s cabin- windows, while you are doing him still 
greater injury from these heights. I trust you will assign 
ze Ving-and-Ving some honorable station, should you come 
to blows with. the republicans.” 


8o 




“ And what particular service would it be most agreeable 
to you to undertake, Signore?” inquired the vice-governa- 
tore, with considerate courtesy ; “ we are no mariners, and 
must leave the choice to yourself. The colonello, here, 
expects some firing, and has his artillerists already at their 
guns.” 

“The preparation of Porto Terrajo is celebrated among 
the mariners of the Mediterranean, and, should the French- 
man venture within reach of your shot, I expect to see him 
unrigged faster than if he were in a dock-yard. As for ze 
leetr Ving-and-Ving, in my opinion, while the frigate is 
busy with these batteries, it might be well for us to steer 
along the shore on the east side of the bay until we can get 
outside of her, when we shall have the beggars between 
two fires. That was just what Nelson did at Aboukir, Sig- 
nor Podest^, a battle you seem so much to admire. ’ ’ 

“That would be a manoeuvre worthy of a follower of 
Nelsoni, Signore,” observed the colonel, “if the metal of 
your guns were heavier. With short pieces of twelve, how- 
ever, you would hardly venture within reach of long pieces 
of eighteen ; although the first should be manned by Inglese, 
and the last by Frangese ? ” 

‘ ‘ One never knows. At the Nile one of our fifties laid the 
Orient, a three-decker, athwart-hawse, and did her lots of 
injury. The vaisseau, in fact, was blown up. Naval com- 
bats are decided on principles altogether different from en- 
gagements on the land. Signor Colonello.” 

“ It must be so, truly,” answered the soldier ; “ but what 
means this movement ? you, as a seaman, may be able to tell 
us, Capitano.” 

This drew all eyes to the frigate again, where, indeed, 
were movements that indicated some important changes. 
As these movements have an intimate connection with the 
incidents of the tale, it will be necessary to relate them in a 
manner to render them more intelligible to the reader. 

The distance of the frigate from the town might now have 
been five English miles. Of current there was none ; and 
there being no tides in the Mediterranean, the ship would 
have lain perfectly stationary all the morning, but for a very 


Min0-anb=Mtna 


8i 


light air from the southward. Before this air, however, she 
had moved to the westward about a couple of miles, until she 
had got the government-house nearly abeam. At the same 
time she had been obliquely drawing nearer, which was the 
circumstance that produced the alarm. With the sun had 
risen the wind, and a few minutes before the colonel inter- 
rupted himself in the manner related, the topsails of the 
stranger had swelled, and he began to move through the 
water at the rate of some four or five knots the hour. The 
moment her people felt that they had complete command 
of their vessel, as if waiting only for that assurance, they 
altered her course, and made sail. Putting her helm a-star- 
board, the ship came close by the wind, with her head look- 
ing directly in for the promontory, while her tacks were 
hauled on board, and her light canvas aloft was loosened and 
spread to the breeze. Almost at the same instant, for every- 
thing seemed to be done at once, and as by instinct, the 
French flag was lowered, another went up in its place, and a 
gun was fired to leeward — a signal of amity. As this 
second emblem of nationality blew out, and opened to the 
breeze, the glasses showed the white field and St. George’s 
cross of the noble old ensign of England. 

An exclamation of surprise and delight escaped the spec- 
tators on the promontory, as their doubts and apprehensions 
were thus dramatically relieved. No one thought of Raoul 
at that happy moment, though to him there was nothing of 
new interest in the affair, with the exception of the apparent 
intention of the stranger to enter the bay. As Ee Feu-Follet 
lay in plain view from the ofiing, he had his doubts, indeed, 
whether the warlike appearance of that craft was not the true 
reason of this sudden change in the frigate’s course. Still, 
lying as he did in a port hostile to France, there was a pro- 
bability that he might yet escape without a very critical or 
close examination. 

“Signor Smees, I felicitate you on this visit of a country- 
man,” cried Andrea Barrofaldi, a pacific man by nature, and 
certainly no warrior, and who felt too happy at the prospects 
of passing a quiet day, to feel distrust at such a moment ; “I 

shall do you honor in my communications with Florence, for 
6 


82 




the spirit and willingness which you have shown in the wish 
to aid us on this trying occasion.” 

“Signor Vice-governatore, do not trouble yourself to 
dwell on my poor services,” answered Raoul, scarce caring 
to conceal the smile that struggled about his handsome 
mouth ; “ think rather of those of these gallant Signori, who 
greatly regret that an opportunity for gaining distinction 
has been lost. But here are signals that must be meant for 
us ; I hope my stupid fellows will be able to answer them in 
my absence.” 

It was fortunate for ke Feu-Follet, perhaps, that her com- 
mander was not on board, when the stranger, the Proserpine, 
the very ship that Ithuel so well knew, made her number. 
The mystification that was to follow was in much better 
hands, while conducted by the New Hampshire man, than 
it could possibly be in his own. Ithuel answered promptly, 
though what, he did not know himself ; but he took good 
care that the flags he showed should become so entangled, 
as not to be read by those in the frigate, while they had 
every appearance of being hoisted fearlessly and in good 
faith. 




CHAPTER VI. 

“ Are all prepared? 

They are — nay more — embarked ; the latest boat 
Waits but my chief— 

My sword and my capote.” 

The Corsair. 

W HAT success attended the artifice of Ithuel it 
was impossible to tell, so far as the frigate was 
concerned ; though the appearance of mutual 
intelligence between the two vessels had a very 
favorable tendency towards removing suspicion from the 
lugger among those on shore. It seemed so utterly improb- 
able that a French corsair could answer the signals of an Eng- 
lish frigate, that even Vito Viti felt compelled to acknowledge 
to the vice-govematore in a whisper, that, so far, the circum- 
stance was much in favor of the lugger’s loyalty. Then 
the calm exterior of Raoul counted for something, more 
especially as he remained apparently an unconcerned ob- 
server of the rapid approach of the ship. 

“We shall not have occasion to use your gallant offer. 
Signor Smees,’’ said Andrea, kindly, as he was about to 
retire into the house with one or two of his counsellors ; ‘ ‘ but 
we thank you none the less. It is a happiness to be honored 
with the visit of two cruisers of your great nation on the 
same day, and I hope you will so far favor me as to accom- 
pany your brother commander, when he shall do me the 
honor to pay the customary visit, since it would seem to be 
his serious intention to pay Porto Ferrajo the compliment of 
a call. Can you not guess at the name of the frigate ? ’ ’ 

“ Now I see she is a countryman, I think I can. Signore,” 
answered Raoul, carelessly ; “I take her to be Ea Proserpine, 

83 


84 




a I^rench-built ship, a circumstance that first deceived me as 
to her character. ’ ’ 

“And the noble cavalier, her commander — you doubt- 
less know his name and rank ? ’ ’ 

“ O ! perfectly ; he is the son of an old admiral, under 
whom I was educated, though we happen ourselves never to 
have met. Sir Brown is the name and title of the gentle- 
man. ” 

“ Ah ! that is a truly English rank, and name, too, as one 
might say. Often have I met that honorable appellation in 
Shakespeare, and other of your eminent authors. Miltoni 
has a Sir Brown, if I am not mistaken. Signore ? ’ ’ 

“Several of them. Signor Vice-govematore, ” answered 
Raoul, without a moment’s hesitation or the smallest remorse ; 
though he had no idea whatever who Milton was ; “ Milton, 
Shakespeare, Cicero, and all our great writers, often mention 
Signori of this family. ” 

“Cicero!” repeated Andrea, in astonishment; “he was 
a Roman, and an ancient, Capitano, and died before Inghil- 
terra was known to the civilized world.” 

Raoul perceived that he had reached too far, though he 
was not in absolute danger of losing his balance. Smiling, 
as in consideration of the other’s provincial view of things, 
he rejoined, with an aplomb that would have done credit to 
a politician, in an explanatory and half-apologetic tone, — 

“Quite true, Signor Vice-governatore, as respects him 
you mention, ’ ’ he said ; ‘ ‘ but not true as respects Sir Cicero, 
my illustrious compatriot. Eet me see — I do not think it 
is yet a century since our Cicero died. He was bom in 
Devonshire” — this was the county in which Raoul had 
been imprisoned — “and must have died in Dublin. Si — 
now I remember, it was in Dublin, that this virtuous and 
distinguished author yielded up his breath.” 

To all this Andrea had nothing to say, for, half a century 
since, so great was the ignorance of civilized nations, as 
related to such things, that one might have engrafted a 
Homer on the literature of England, in particular, without 
much risk of having the imposition detected. Signor Bar- 
rofaldi was not pleased to find that the barbarians were seiz- 




8s 


ing on the Italian names, it is true ; but he was fain to set 
the circumstance down to those very traces of barbarism 
which were the unavoidable fruits of their origin. As for 
supposing it possible that one who spoke with the ease and 
innocence of Raoul, was inventing as he went along, it was 
an idea he was himself much too unpractised to entertain ; 
and the very first thing he did, on entering the palace, was 
to make a memorandum which might lead him, at a leisure 
moment, to inquire into the nature of the writings, and the 
general merits of Sir Cicero, the illustrious namesake of him 
of Rome. As soon as this little digression terminated, he 
entered the palace, after again expressing the hope that 
“Sir Smees” would not fail to accompany “Sir Brown,” 
in the visit which the functionary fully expected to receive 
from the latter, in the course of the next hour or two. The 
company now began to disperse, and Raoul was soon left to 
his own meditations ; which, just at that moment, were 
anything but agreeable. 

The town of Porto Ferrajo is so shut in from the sea by 
the rock against which it is built, its fortifications, and the 
construction of its own little port, as to render the approach 
of a vessel invisible to its inhabitants, unless they choose to 
ascend to the heights, and the narrow promenade already 
mentioned. This circumstance had drawn a large crowd up- 
on the hill again ; among which Raoul Yvard now threaded 
his way, wearing his sea cap, and his assumed naval uni- 
form, in a smart, affected manner, for he was fully sensible 
of all the advantages he possessed on the score of personal 
appearance. His unsettled eye, however, wandered from 
one pretty face to another, in quest of Ghita, who alone was 
the object of his search, and the true cause of the awkward 
predicament into which he had brought not only himself, 
but Te Feu-Follet. In this manner, now thinking of her 
he sought, and then reverting to his situation in an enemy’s 
port, he walked along the whole line of the cliff, scarce 
knowing whether to return, or to seek his boat, by doubling 
on the town, when he heard his own name pronounced in a 
sweet voice, which went directly to his heart. Turning on 
his heel, Ghita was within a few feet of him. 


86 




‘ ‘ Salute me distantly, and as a stranger, ’ ’ said the girl, in 
almost breathless haste, ‘ ‘ and point to the different streets 
as if inquiring your way through the town. This is the 
place where we met last evening; but, remember it is no 
longer dark.” 

As Raoul complied with her desire, any distant spectator 
might well have fancied the meeting accidental, though he 
poured forth a flood of expressions of love and admiration. 

“Enough, Raoul,” said the girl, blushing, and dropping 
her eyes, though no displeasure was visible on her serene 
and placid face, ‘ ‘ another time I might indulge you. How 
much worse is your situation now than it was last night ! 
Then you had only the port to fear ; now you have both 
the people of the port and this strange ship — an Inglese, as 
they tell me? ” 

“ No doubt ; Ta Proserpine, Ktooell says, and he knows ; 
you remember Ktooell, dearest Ghita, the American who 
was with me at the tower — well, he has served in this very 
ship, and knows her to be Ka Proserpine, of forty-four.” 
Raoul paused a moment ; then he added, laughing in a way 
to surprise his companion, “ Oui — La Proserpine, le Cap- 
itaine Sir Brown ! ’ ’ 

“ What you can And to amuse you in all this, Raoul, is 
more than I can discover. Sir Brown, or Sir anybody else, 
will send you again to those evil English prison-ships, of 
which you have so often told me ; and there is surely noth- 
ing pleasant in that idea.” 

“Bah ! my sweet Ghita, Sir Brown, or Sir White, or Sir 
Black, has not yet got me. I am not a child, to tumble into 
the fire because the leading-strings are off ; and Le Feu- 
Follet shines^ or goes out, exactly as it suits her purposes. 
The frigate, ten to one, will just run close in, and take a near 
look, and then square away and go to Livorno, where there is 
much more to amuse her officers, than here in Porto Ferrajo. 
This Sir Brown has his Ghita, as well as Raoul Yvard. ” 

“ No, not a Ghita, I fear, Raoul, ” answered the girl smil- 
ing, spite of herself, while her color almost insensibly deep- 
ened ; “Livorno has few ignorant country girls, like me, 
who have been educated in a lone watch-tower on the coast.” 


XKIlinG:*ant)^TKIltna 


37 


“Ghita,” answered Raoul, with feeling, “that poor lone 
watch-tower of thine might well be envied by many a noble 
dame at Roma and at Napoli ; it has left thee innocent and 
pure — a gem that gay capitals seldom contain ; or, if found 
there, not in its’ native beauty, which they sully by use.” 

“What know’st thou, Raoul, of Roma and Napoli, and 
of noble dames and rich gems?” asked the girl, smiling, 
the tenderness which had filled her heart at that moment 
betraying itself in her eyes. 

‘ ‘ What do I know of such things, truly ! why, I have been 
at both places, and have seen what I describe. I went to 
Roma on purpose to see the Holy Father, in order to make cer- 
tain whether our French opinions of his character and infalli- 
bility were true, or not, before I set up in religion for myself.” 

“And thou didst find him holy and venerable, Raoul,” 
interposed the girl, with earnestness and energy, for this 
was the great point of separation between them , — ^‘Iknow 
thou found’ st him thus, and worthy to be the head of an 
ancient and true Church. My eyes never beheld him ; but 
this do I know to be true.” 

Raoul was aware that the laxity of his- religious opinions, 
opinions that he may be said to have inherited from his 
country, as it then existed morally, alone prevented Ghita 
from casting aside all other ties, and following his fortunes, 
in weal and in woe. Still he was too frank and generous to 
deceive, while he had ever been too considerate to strive to 
unsettle her confiding and consoling faith. Her infirmity 
even, for so he deemed her notions to be, had a charm in his 
eyes ; few men, however loose or skeptical in their own 
opinions on such matters, finding any pleasure in the con- 
templation of a female infidel ; and he had never looked 
more fondly into her anxious but lovely face, than he did at 
this very instant, making his reply with a truth that bor- 
dered on magnanimity. 

“ Thou art my religion, Ghita!” he said; “in thee I 
worship purity, and holiness, and — ’ ’ 

“Nay, nay, Raoul, do not! refrain, if thou really lov’st 
me ; utter not this frightful blasphemy ; tell me, rather, if 
thou didst not find the Holy Father as I describe him? ” 


88 




“ I found him a peaceful, venerable, and, I firmly believe, 
a good old man, Ghita ; but only a man. No infallibility 
could I see about him ; but a set of roguish cardinals, and 
other plotters of mischief, who were much better calculated 
to set Christians by the ears than to lead them to Heaven, 
surrounded his chair.” 

“Say no more, Raoul ; I will listen to no more of this. 
Thou knowest not these sainted men, and thy tongue is thine 
own enemy, without — hark ! what means that ? ’ ’ 

“ It is a gun from the frigate, and must be looked to ; say, 
when and where do we meet again ? ’ ’ 

“I know not, now. We have been too long, much too 
long together, as it is ; and must separate. Trust to me to 
provide the means of another meeting; at all events, we 
shall shortly be in our tower again. ’ ’ 

Ghita glided away as she ceased speaking, and soon dis- 
appeared in the town. As for Raoul, he was at a loss for a 
moment whether to follow or not ; then he hastened to the 
terrace in front of the government-house again, in order to 
ascertain the meaning of the gun. The report had drawn 
others to the same place, and on reaching it, the young man 
found himself in another crowd. 

By this time the Proserpine, for Ithuel was right as to the 
name of the stranger, had got within a league of the en- 
trance of the bay, and had gone about, stretching over to 
its eastern shore, apparently with the intention to fetch fairly 
into it on the next tack. The smoke of her gun was sailing 
off to leeward, in a little cloud, and signals were again fly- 
ing at her main-royal-mast-head. All this was very intel- 
ligible to Raoul, it being evident at a glance that the frigate 
had reached in nearer both to look at the warlike lugger 
that she saw in the bay, and to communicate more clearly 
with her by signals. Ithuel’ s expedient had not sufficed; 
the vigilant Captain Cuffe, alias Sir Brown, who commanded 
the Proserpine, not being a man likely to be mystified by so 
stale a trick. Raoul scarcely breathed, as he watched the 
lugger, in anticipation of her course. 

Ithuel certainly seemed in no hurry to commit himself, 
for the signal had now been flying on board the frigate sev- 




89 


eral minutes, and yet no symptoms of any preparation for 
an answer could be discovered. At length the halyards 
moved, and then three fair, handsome flags rose to the end 
of the Feu-Follet’s jigger yard, a spar that was always kept 
aloft in moderate weather. What the signal meant Raoul 
did not know, for though he was provided with signals by 
means of which to communicate with the vessels of war of 
his own nation, the Directory had not been able to supply 
him with those necessary to communicate with the enemy. 
Ithuel’s ingenuity, however, had supplied the deficiency. 
While serving on board the Proserpine, the very ship that 
was now menacing the lugger, he had seen a meeting be- 
tween her and a privateer English lugger, one of the two 
or three of that rig which sailed out of England, and his 
observant eye had noted the flags she had shown on the 
occasion. Now as privateersmen are not expected to be 
expert, or even very accurate, in the use of signals, he had 
ventured to show these very numbers, let it prove for better 
or worse. Had he been on the quarter-deck of the frigate, 
he would have ascertained, through the benedictions be- 
stowed by Captain Cuffe, that his ruse had so far succeeded 
as to cause that officer to attribute his unintelligible answer 
to ignorance, rather than to design. Nevertheless, the frig- 
ate did not seem disposed to alter her course ; for, either 
influenced by a desire to anchor, or by a determination to 
take a still closer look at the lugger, she stood on, nearing 
the eastern side of the bay, at the rate of some six miles to 
the hour. 

Raoul Yvard now thought it time to look to the safety of 
the Feu-Follet in person. Previously to landing he had 
given instructions as to what was to be done in the event of 
the frigate’s coming close in ; but matters now seemed so 
very serious, that he hurried down the hill, overtaking Vito 
Viti in his way, who was repairing to the harbor to give 
instructions to certain boatmen concerning the manner in 
which the quarantine laws were to be regarded, in an inter- 
course with a British frigate. 

“You ought to be infinitely happy at the prospect of 
meeting an honorable countryman in this Sir Brown,” ob- 


90 


XKIlina:*=anbs:Min0 


served the short-winded podest^, who usually put himself 
out of breath both in ascending and descending the steep 
street, ‘ ‘ for he really seems determined to anchor in our bay, 
Signor Smees.” 

“To tell you the truth, Signor Podest^, I wish I was 
half as well persuaded that it is Sir Brown, and Ta Pro- 
serpine, as I was an hour ago. I see symptoms of its being 
a republican, after all, and must have a care for ze Ving- 
and-Ving.” 

“The devil carry away all republicans, is my humble 
prayer, Signor Capitano ; but I can hardly believe that so 
graceful and gracious-looking a frigate can possibly belong 
to such wretches. ’ ’ 

“ Ah ! Signore, if that were all, I fear we should have to 
yield the palm to the French,” answered Raoul, laughing; 
“ for the best-looking craft in his majesty’s service are 
republican prizes. Even should this frigate turn out to be 
Ta Proserpine herself, she can claim no better origin. But 
I think the vice-governatore has not done well in deserting 
the batteries, since this stranger does not answer our signals 
as she should. The last communication has proved quite 
unintelligible to him.” 

Raoul was nearer to the truth than he imagined, perhaps, 
for certainly Ithuel’s numbers had made nonsense, according 
to the signal book of Ta Proserpine ; but his confident 
manner had an effect on Vito Viti, who was duped by his 
seeming earnestness, as well as by a circumstance which, 
rightly considered, told as much against, as it did in favor 
of his companion. 

“And what is to be done. Signore?” demanded the 
podest^, stopping short in the street. 

“We must do as well as we can, under the circumstances. 
My duty is to look out for ze Ving-and-Ving, and yours to 
look out for the town. Should the stranger actually enter 
the bay and bring his broadside to bear on this steep hill, 
there is not a chamber window that will not open on the muzzles 
of his guns. You will grant me permission to haul into the 
inner harbor, where we shall be sheltered by the buildings 
from his shot, and then, perhaps, it will be well enough to 




91 


send my people into the nearest battery. I look for blood- 
shed and confusion ere long.” 

All this was said with so much apparent sincerity, that it 
added to the podest^’s mystification. Calling a neighbor to 
him, he sent the latter up the hill, with a message to Andrea 
Barrofaldi, and then he hurried down towards the port, it 
being much easier for him, just at that moment, to descend, 
than to ascend. Raoul kept at his side, and together they 
reached the water’s edge. 

The podest^ was greatly addicted to giving utterance to 
any predominant opinion of the moment, being one of those 
persons who feel quite as much as they think. On the pres- 
ent occasion he did not spare the frigate, for, having caught 
at the bait that his companion had so artfully thrown out to 
him, he was loud in the expression of his distrust. All the 
signalling and showing of colors, he now believed to be a 
republican trick ; and precisely in proportion as he became 
resentful of the supposed fraud of the ship, was he disposed 
to confide blindly in the honesty of the lugger. This was 
a change of sentiment in the magistrate ; and, as in the case 
of all sudden but late conversions, he was in a humor to 
compensate for his tardiness by the excess of his zeal. In 
consequence of this disposition, and the character and loquac- 
ity of the man, all aided by a few timely suggestions on the 
part of Raoul, in five minutes it came to be generally un- 
derstood that the frigate was greatly to be distrusted, while 
the lugger rose in public favor exactly in the degree in 
which the other fell. This interposition of Vito Viti’s was 
exceedingly apropos, so far as Te Feu-Follet and her people 
were concerned, inasmuch as the examination of, and inter- 
course with the boat’s crew had rather left the impression 
of their want of nationality in a legal sense, than otherwise. 
In a word, had not the podest^ so loudly and so actively 
proclaimed the contrary, Tommaso and his fellows were 
about to report their convictions that these men were all 
bond, fide wolves in sheep’s clothing — alias Frenchmen. 

“No, no, amici miei,” said Vito Viti, bustling about on 
the narrow little quay, “all is not gold that glitters, of a 
certainty ; and this frigate is probably no ally, but an enemy. 


92 




A very different matter is it with ze Ving-y-Ving and II 
Signor Smees ; we may be said to know him — have seen 
his papers, and the vice-govematore and myself have exam- 
ined him, as it might be, on the history and laws of his 
island ; for England is an island, neighbors, as well as Elba ; 
another reason for respect and amity : but we have gone 
over much of the literature and history of Inghilterra to- 
gether, and find everything satisfactory and right ; there- 
fore are we bound to show the lugger protection and love.” 

“Most true. Signor Podesta,” answered Raoul, from his 
boat ; ‘ ‘ and such being the case, I hasten to haul my 
vessel into the mouth of your basin, which I will defend 
against boats, or any attempt of these rascally republicans 
to land.” 

Waving his hand, the young sailor pulled quickly out of 
the crowded little port, followed by a hundred vivas. Raoul 
now saw that his orders had not been neglected. A small 
line had been run out from the lugger, and fastened to a 
ring in the inner end of the eastern side of the narrow haven, 
apparently with the intention of hauling the vessel into the 
harbor itself. He also perceived that the light anchor, or 
large kedge, by which Ee Feu-Follet rode, was under foot, 
as seamen term it ; or that the cable was nearly ‘ ‘ up and 
down.” With a wave of the hand he communicated a new 
order, and then he saw that the men were raising the kedge 
from the bottom. By the time his foot touched the deck, 
indeed, the anchor was up and stowed, and nothing held 
the vessel but the line that had been run to the quay. Fifty 
pairs of hands were applied to this line, and the lugger ad- 
vanced rapidly towards her place of shelter. But an artifice 
was practised to prevent her heading into the harbor’s 
mouth, the line having been brought inboard abaft her 
larboard cathead, a circumstance which necessarily gave her 
a sheer in the contrary direction, or to the eastward of the 
entrance. When the reader remembers that the scale on 
which the port had been constructed was small, the entrance 
scarce exceeding a hundred feet in width, he will better 
understand the situation of things. Seemingly to aid the 
movement, too, the jigger was set, and the wind being south. 




93 


or directly aft, the lugger’s motion was soon light and rapid. 
As the vessel drew nearer to the entrance, her people made 
a run with the line, and gave her a movement of some three 
or four knots to the hour, actually threatening to dash her 
bows against the pier-head. But Raoul Yvard contemplated 
no such blunder. At the proper moment, the line was cut, 
the helm was put a-port, the lugger’s head sheered to star- 
board, and just as Vito Viti, who witnessed all without 
comprehending more than half that passed, was shouting 
his vivas^ and animating all near him with his cries, the 
lugger glided past the end of the harbor, on its outside, how- 
ever, instead of entering it. So completely was every one 
taken by surprise by this evolution, that the first impression 
was of some mistake, accident, or blunder of the helmsman, 
and cries of regret followed, lest the fidgate might have it in 
her power to profit by the mishap. The flapping of canvas, 
notwithstanding, showed that no time was lost, and presently 
Te Feu-FoUet shot by an opening between the warehouses, 
under all sail. At this critical instant, the frigate, which saw 
what passed, but which had been deceived, like all the rest, 
and supposed the lugger was hauling into the haven, tacked 
and came round with her head to the westward. But 
intending to fetch well into the bay, she had stretched so far 
over towards the eastern shore, as, by this time, to be quite 
two miles distant ; and as the lugger rounded the promon- 
tory close under its rocks, to avoid the shot of the batteries 
above, she left, in less than five minutes, her enemy that 
space directly astern. Nor was this all. It would have 
been dangerous to fire as well as useless, on account of the 
range, since the lugger lay nearly in a line between her 
enemy’s chase guns and the residence of the vice-govematore. 
It only remained, therefore, for the frigate to commence 
what is proverbially “a long chase,” namely, “a stem 
chase.” 

All that has just been related may have occupied ten 
minutes ; but the news reached Andrea Barrofaldi and his 
counsellors soon enough to allow them to appear on the 
promontory, in time to see the Ving-y-Ving pass close under 
the cliffs beneath them, still keeping her English colors fly- 


94 




ing. Raoul was visible, trumpet in hand ; but as the wind 
was light, his powerful voice sufficed to tell his story. 

“Signori,” he shouted, “I will lead the rascally repub- 
lican away from your port, in chase ; that will be the most 
effectual mode of doing you a service.” 

These words were heard and understood, and a murmur 
of applause followed from some, while others thought the 
whole affair mysterious and questionable. There was no 
time to interpose by acts, had such a course been contem- 
plated, the lugger keeping too close in to be exposed to shot, 
and there being, as yet, no new preparations in the batteries 
to meet an enemy. Then there were the doubts as to the 
proper party to assail, and all passed too rapidly to admit of 
consultation or preconcert. 

The movement of Te Feu-Follet was so easy, as to par- 
take of the character of instinct. Her light sails were fully 
distended, though the breeze was far from fresh ; and, as 
she rose and fell on the long ground-swells, her wedge-like 
bows caused the water to ripple before them like a swift 
current meeting a sharp obstacle in the stream. It was only 
as she sank into the water, in stemming a swell, that any- 
thing like foam could be seen under her fore-foot. A long 
line of swift-receding bubbles, however, marked her track, 
and she no sooner came abreast of any given group of spec- 
tators, than she was past it, resembling the progress of a 
porpoise as he sports along a harbor. 

Ten minutes after passing the palace, or the pitch of the 
promontory, the lugger opened another bay, one wider and 
almost as deep as that on which Porto Ferrajo stands, and 
here she took the breeze without the intervention of any 
neighboring rocks, and her speed was essentially increased. 
Hitherto, her close proximity to the shore had partially be- 
calmed her, though the air had drawn round the promontory, 
making nearly a fair wind of it ; but now the currents came 
fully on her beam, and with much more power. She hauled 
down her tacks, flattened in her sheets, luffed, and was soon 
out of sight, breasting up to windward of a point that formed 
the eastern extremity of the bay last mentioned. 

All this time the Proserpine had not been idle. As soon 




95 


as she discovered that the lugger was endeavoring to escape, 
her rigging was alive with men. Sail after sail was set, one 
white cloud succeeding another, until she was a sheet of 
canvas from her trucks to her bulwarks. Her lofty sails 
taking the breeze above the adjacent coast, her progress was 
swift, for this particular frigate had the reputation of being 
one of the fastest vessels in the English marine. 

It was just twenty minutes, by Andrea Barrofaldi’s watch, 
after Le Feu-Follet passed the spot where he stood, when 
the Proserpine came abreast of it. Her greater draught of 
water induced her to keep half a mile from the promontory, 
but she was so near as to allow a very good opportunity to 
examine her general construction and appearance, as she 
went by. The batteries were now manned, and a consulta- 
tion was held on the propriety of punishing a republican for 
daring to come so near a Tuscan port. But there flew the 
respected and dreaded English ensign ; and it was still a 
matter of doubt whether the stranger were friend or enemy. 
Nothing about the ship showed apprehension, and yet she 
was clearly chasing a craft which, coming from a Tuscan 
harbor, an Englishman would be bound to consider entitled 
to his protection rather than to his hostility. In a word, 
opinions were divided, and when that is the case, in matters 
of this nature, decision is obviously difiicult. Then, if a 
Frenchman, he clearly attempted no injury to any on the 
island ; and those who possessed the power to commence a 
fire were fully aware how much the town lay exposed, and 
how little benefit might be expected from even a single 
broadside. The consequence was, that the few who were 
disposed to open on the frigate, like the two or three who 
had felt the same disposition towards the lugger, were re- 
strained in their wishes, not only by the voice of superior 
authority, but by that of numbers. 

In the meanwhile the Proserpine pressed on, and in ten 
minutes more she was not only out of the range, but beyond 
the reach of shot. As she opened the bay west of the town, 
Ee Feu-Follet was seen from her decks, fully a league ahead, 
close on a wind, the breeze hauling round the western end 
of the island, glancing through the water at a rate that 


96 




rendered pursuit more than doubtful. Still the ship perse- 
vered, and in little more than an hour from the time she had 
crowded sail, she was up with the western extremity of the 
hills, though more than a mile to leeward. Here she met 
the fair southern breeze, uninfluenced by the land, as it came 
through the pass between Corsica and Elba, and got a clear 
view of the work before her. The studding-sails and royals 
had been taken in, twenty minutes earlier; the bowlines 
were now all hauled, and the frigate was brought close upon 
the wind. Still the chase was evidently hopeless, the little 
Feu-Follet having everything as much to her mind as if she 
had ordered the weather expressly to show her powers. 
With her sheets flattened in until her canvas stood like 
boards, her head looked fully a point to windward of that of 
the ship, and, what was of equal importance, she even went 
to windward of the point she looked at, while the Proser- 
pine, if anything, fell off a little, though but a very little, 
from her own course. Under all these differences, the lug- 
ger went through the water six feet to the frigate’s five, 
beating her in speed almost as much as she did in her Weath- 
erly qualities. 

The vessel to windward was not the first lugger, by fifty, 
that Captain Cuffe had assisted in chasing, and he knew the 
hopelessness of following such a craft, under circumstances 
so directly adapted to its qualities. Then, he was far from 
certain that he was pursuing an enemy at all, whatever dis- 
trust the signals may have excited, since she had clearly 
come out of a friendly port. Bastia, too, lay within a few 
hours’ run, and there was the whole of the east coast of 
Corsica, abounding with small bays and havens, in which a 
vessel of that size might take refuge, if pressed. After con- 
vincing himself, therefore, by half-an-hour’s further trial in 
open sailing under the full force of the breeze, of the fruit- 
lessness of his effort, that experienced officer ordered the 
Proserpine’s helm put up, the yards squared, and he stood to 
the northward, apparently shaping his course for Eeghorn, 
or the Gulf of Genoa, When the frigate made this change 
in her course, the lugger, which had tacked some time pre- 
viously, was just becoming shut in by the western end of 


Mtna==ant)^Min0 


97 


Elba, and she was soon lost to view entirely, with every 
prospect of her weathering the island altogether, without 
being obliged to go about again. 

It was no more than natural that such a chase should 
occasion some animation in a place as retired, and ordinarily 
as dull, as Porto Ferrajo. Several of the young idlers of 
the garrison obtained horses, and galloped up among the 
hills, to watch the result ; the mountains being pretty well 
intersected by bridal-paths, though totally without regular 
roads. They who remained in the town, as a matter of 
course, were not disposed to let so favorable a subject for 
discourse die away immediately, for want of a disposition to 
gossip on it. Tittle else was talked of, that day, than the 
menaced attack of the republican frigate, and the escape of 
the lugger. Some, indeed, still doubted, for every question 
has its two sides, and there was just enough of dissent to 
render the discussions lively, and the arguments ingenious. 
Among the disputants, Vito Viti acted a prominent part. 
Having committed himself so openly by his vivas, and 
his public remarks in the port, he felt it due to his own char- 
acter to justify all he had said, and Raoul Yvard could 
not have desired a warmer advocate than he had in the 
podest^. The worthy magistrate exaggerated the vice-gov- 
ernatore’s knowledge of English, by way of leaving no 
deficiency in the necessary proofs of the lugger’s national 
character. Nay, he even went so far as to affirm that he 
had comprehended a portion of the documents exhibited by 
the “Signor Smees,” himself ; and as to “ ze Ving-y-Ving, ” 
any one acquainted in the least with the geography of the 
British Channel would understand that she was precisely the 
sort of craft that the semi-Gallic inhabitants of Guernsey and 
Jersey would be apt to send forth to cruise against the out 
and out Gallic inhabitants of the adjacent main. 

During all these discussions, there was one heart in Porto 
Ferrajo that was swelling with the conflicting emotions of 
gratitude, disappointment, joy, and fear, though the tongue 
of its owner was silent. Of all her sex in the place, Ghita 
alone had nothing to conjecture, no speculation to advance, 
no opinion to maintain, nor any wish to express. Still she 

7 


98 




listened eagerly, and it was not the least of her causes of 
satisfaction to find that her own hurried interviews with the 
handsome privateersman had apparently escaped observation. 
At length her mind was fully lightened of its apprehensions, 
leaving nothing but tender regrets, by the return of the 
horsemen from the mountains. These persons reported that 
the upper sails of the frigate were just visible in the north- 
ern board, so far as they could judge, even more distant than 
the island of Capraya, while the lugger had beaten up 
almost as far to windward as Pianosa, and then seemed dis- 
posed to stand over towards the coast of Corsica, doubt- 
less with an intention to molest the commerce of that hostile 
island. 




CHAPTER VII. 

^^Ant, — And, indeed sir, there are cozeners abroad ; therefore it be- 
hooves me to be wary. 

Clo . — Fear not thou, man, thou shalt lose nothing here. 

Ant . — I hope so, sir, for I have about me many parcels of change.’* 

Winter^ s Tale. 

S UCH was the state of things at Porto Ferrajo, at 
noon, or about the hour when its inhabitants 
bethought them of their midday meal. With 
most, the siesta followed, though the sea air, with 
its invigorating coolness, rendered that indulgence less 
necessary to these islanders, than to most of their neighbors 
on the main. Then succeeded the reviving animation of the 
afternoon, and the return of the zephyr, or the western 
breeze. So regular, indeed, are these changes in the cur- 
rents of the air dining the summer months, that the mar- 
iner can rely with safety on meeting a light breeze from the 
southward throughout the morning, a calm at noon, — the 
siesta of the Mediterranean, — and the delightfully cool wind 
from the west, after three or four o’clock ; this last is again 
succeeded, at night, by a breeze directly from the land. 
Weeks at a time have we known this order of things to be 
uninterrupted ; and when the change did occasionally occur, 
it was only in the slight episodes of showers and thunder- 
storms, of which, however, Italy has far fewer than our 
own coast. 

Such, then, was the state of Porto Ferrajo, towards the 
evening that succeeded this day of bustle and excitement. 
The zephyr again prevailed ; the idle once more issued forth 
for their sunset walk ; and the gossips were collecting to 
renew their conjectures, and to start some new point in their 
l.ofC. 99 



lOO 




already exhausted discussions, when a rumor spread through 
the place, like fire communicated to a train, that “ ze Ving- 
y-Ving ’ ’ was once more coming down on the weather side 
of the island, precisely as she had approached on the previ- 
ous evening, with the confidence of a friend, and the celerity 
of a bird. Years had passed since such a tumult was 
awakened in the capital of Elba. Men, women, and chil- 
dren poured from the houses, and were seen climbing the 
streets, all hastening to the promenade, as if to satisfy them- 
selves with their own eyes of the existence of some miracle. 
In vain did the infirm and aged call on the vigorous and 
more youthful for the customary assistance ; they were 
avoided like the cases of plague, and were left to hobble up 
the terraced street as best they might. Even mothers, after 
dragging them at their own sides till fearful of being too late, 
abandoned their young in the highway, certain of finding 
them rolled to the foot of the declivity, should they fail of 
scrambling to its summit. In short, it was a scene of con- 
fusion in which there was much to laugh at, something to 
awaken wonder, and not a little that was natural. 

Ten minutes had not certainly elapsed, after the rumor 
reached the lower part of the town, ere two thousand per- 
sons were on the hill, including nearly all the principal per- 
sonages of the place, ’Maso Tonti, Ghita, and the different 
characters known to the reader. So nearly did the scene of 
this evening resemble that of the past, the numbers of the 
throng on the hill and the greater interest excepted, that one 
who had been present at the former, might readily have fan- 
cied the latter merely its continuation. There, indeed, was 
the lugger, under her foresail and mainsail, with the jigger 
brailed, coming down wing-and-wing, and glancing along 
the glittering sea like the duck sailing toward her nest. 
This time, however, the English ensign was flying at the 
end of thejigger yard, as if in triumph ; and the little craft 
held her way nearer to the rocks, like one acquainted with 
the coast, and fearing no danger. There was a manner of 
established confidence in the way in which she trusted her- 
self under the muzzles of guns that might have destroyed 
her in a very few minutes, and no one who saw her ap- 


MtngsanbsTmiing 


lOI 


proach could very well believe that sbe was anything but a 
known, as well as a confirmed friend. 

“ Would any of the republican rascals, think you. Signor 
Andrea, ” asked Vito Viti, in triumph, “dare to come into 
Porto Ferrajo in this style ; knowing, too, as does this ‘ Sir 
Smees,’ the sort of people he will have to deal with ! Re- 
member, Vice-governatore, that the man has actually been 
ashore among us, and would not be likely to run his head 
into the lion’s mouth.’’ 

“Thou hast changed thine opinion greatly, neighbor 
Vito,’’ answered the vice-governatore, somewhat dryly, fot 
he was far from being satisfied on the subject of Sir Cicero, 
and on those of certain other circumstances in English history 
and politics ; “ it better becomes magistrates to be cautious 
and wary.’’ 

“ Well, if there be a more cautious and circumspect man 
in Elba than the poor podest^ of the Porto Ferrajo, let him 
stand forth, o’ God’s name, and prove his deeds ! I do not 
esteem myself. Signor Vice-governatore, as the idlest or as 
the most ignorant man in the Grand Duke’s territories. 
There may be wiser, among whom I place your Eccellenza ; 
but there is not a more loyal subject, or a more zealous 
friend of truth.” 

“I believe it, good Vito,” returned Andrea, smiling 
kindly on his old associate, ‘ ‘ and have ever so considered 
thy advice and services. Still, I wish I knew something of 
this Sir Cicero ; for, to be frank with thee, I have even fore- 
gone my siesta, in searching the books in quest of such a 
man.” 

“And do they not confirm every syllable the Signor 
Smees has said ? ” 

“ So far from it, that I do not even find the name. It is 
true, several distinguished orators of the nation are styled 
English Ciceros ; but then all people do this, by way of 
commendation.” 

“ I do not know that, Signore — I do not know that ; it 
may happen in our Italy ; but would it come to pass, think 
you, among remote and so lately barbarous nations as Eng- 
land, Germany, and France ? ’ ’ 


102 




“ Thou forgettest, friend Vito,” returned the vice-gover- 
natore, smiling now, in pity of his companion’s ignorance 
and prejudices, as just before he had smiled in kindness ; 
‘ ‘ that we Italians took the pains to civilize these people a 
thousand years ago, and that they have not gone backward 
all this time. But there can be no doubt that ze Ving-y- 
Ving means to enter our bay again, and there stands the 
‘ Signor Smees ’ examining us with a glass, as if he, too, con- 
templated another interview.” 

‘ ‘ It strikes me, Vice-governatore, that it would be a sin 
next to heresy to doubt the character of those who so loyally 
put their trust in us. No republican would dare to anchor 
in the bay of Porto Ferrajo a second time. Once^ it might 
possibly be done ; but twice f — no, never, never ! ’ ’ 

“ I do not know but you are right, Vito, and I am sure I 
hope so. Win you descend to the port, and see that the 
forms are complied with ? Then glean such useful circum- 
stances as you can. ’ ’ 

The crowd was now in motion towards the lower part of 
the town, to meet the lugger ; and at this suggestion the 
podest^ hurried down in the throng, to be in readiness to 
receive the “Signor Smees” as soon as he should land. It 
was thought more dignified and proper for the vice-governa- 
tore to remain, and await to hear the report of the supposed 
Fnglish officer where he was. Ghita was one of the few, 
also, who remained on the heights, her heart now beating 
with renewed apprehensions of the dangers that her lover 
had again braved on her account, and now nearly overflow- 
ing with tenderness, as she admitted the agreeable convic- 
tion that, had she not been in Porto Ferrajo, Raoul Yvard 
would never have incurred such risks. 

Ghita delle Torri, or Ghita of the Towers, as the girl was 
ordinarily termed by those who knew her, from a circumstance 
in her situation that will appear as we advance in the tale, or 
Ghita Caraccioli, as was her real name, had been an orphan 
from infancy. She had imbibed a strength of character and 
a self-reliance, from her condition, that might otherwise have 
been wanting in one so young, and of a native disposition so 
truly gentle. An aunt had impressed on her mind the 




103 


lessons of female decorum ; and her uncle, who had aban- 
doned the world on account of a strong religious sentiment, 
had aided in making her deeply devout and keenly conscien- 
tious. The truth of her character rendered her indisposed 
to the deception which Raoul was practising, while feminine 
weakness inclined her to forgive the offence in the motive. 
She had shuddered again and again, as she remembered how 
deeply the young sailor was becoming involved in frauds, 
and frauds, too, that might so easily terminate in violence 
and bloodshed ; and then she had trembled under the in- 
fluence of a gentler emotion, as she remembered that all 
these risks were run for her. Her reason had long since 
admonished her that Raoul Yvard and Ghita Caraccioli 
ought to be strangers to each other ; but her heart told a 
different story. The present was an occasion suited to keeping 
these conflicting feelings keenly alive, and, as has been said, 
when most of the others hastened down towards the port to 
be present when the Wing-and-Wing came in, she remained 
on the hill, brooding over her own thoughts, much of the 
time bathed in tears. 

But Raoul had no intention of trusting his Jack-o’-Tantern 
where it might so readily be extinguished by the hand of 
man. Instead of taking shelter against any new roving 
republican who might come along behind the buildings of 
the port, as had been expected, he shot past the end of 
the quay, and anchored within a few fathoms of the very 
spot he had quitted that morning, merely dropping his kedge 
under foot as before. Then he stepped confidently into his 
boat, and pulled for the landing. 

“Bh, Signor Capitano,” cried Vito Viti, as he met his 
new protigS with an air of cordiality, as soon as the foot of 
the latter touched the shore, “ we looked for the pleasure of 
receiving you into our bosom, as it were, here in the haven. 
How ingeniously you led oflf that sans culotte this morning ! 
Ah ! the Inglese are the great nation of the ocean, Colombo 
notwithstanding ! The vice-governatore told me all about 
your illustrious female admiral, Blisabetta, and the Spanish 
armada ; and there was Nelsoni ; and now we have Smees ! ’ ’ 

Raoul accepted these compliments, both national and per- 


104 


MinGsan&sTOling 


sonal, in a very gracious manner, squeezing tlie hand of the 
podest^ with suitable cordiality and condescension, acting 
the great man as if accustomed to this sort of incense from 
infancy. As became his public situation, as well as his 
character, he proposed paying his duty immediately to the 
superior authorities of the island. 

“ King George, my master,” continued Raoul, as he and 
Vito Viti walked from the quay towards the residence of 
Andrea Barrofaldi, ” is particularly pointed on this subject, 
with us all, in his personal orders. ‘ Never enter a port of 
one of my allies, Smeet,’ he said, the very last time I took 
leave of him, ‘without immediately hastening with your 
duty to the commandant of the place. You never lose any- 
thing by being liberal of politeness, and England is too 
polished a country to be outdone in these things, by even 
the Italians, the parents of modem civilization.” 

“You are happy in having such a sovrano, and still more 
so in being allowed to approach his sacred person.” 

“ O ! as to the last, the navy is his pet ; he considers us 
captains, in particular, as his children. ‘ Never enter Eon- 
don, my dear Smeet,’ he said to me, ‘ without coming to the 
palace, where 3^ou will always find a father you know he 
has one son among us who was lately a captain, as well as 
myself. ’ ’ 

“San Stefano ! and he the child of a great king ! I did 
not know that, I confess. Signore. ’ ’ 

“ Why, it is a law, in England, that the king shall give at 
least one son to the marine. ‘ Yes, ’ said his majesty, ‘ always 
be prompt in calling on the superior authorities, and remem- 
ber me benevolently and affectionately to them, one and all, 
even down to the subordinate magistrates, who live in their 
intimacy.’ ” 

Raoul delighted in playing the part he was now perform- 
ing, but he was a little addicted to over-acting it. Eike all 
exceedingly bold and decided geniuses, he was constantly 
striding across that step which separates the sublime from 
the ridiculous, and consequently ran no small hazard in the 
way of discovery. But with Vito Viti he incurred little risk 
on this score, provincial credulity and a love of the marvellous 




105 


coming in aid of his general ignorance, to render him a safe 
depository of anything of this sort that the other might 
choose to advance. Vito Viti felt it to be an honor to con- 
verse with a man who, in his turn, had conversed with a 
king ; and as he puffed his way up the steep ascent again, 
he did not fail to express some of the feelings which were 
glowing in his breast. 

“Is it not a happiness to serve such a prince?” he ex- 
claimed, “nay, to die for him ! ” 

“The latter is a service I have not yet performed,” 
answered Raoul, innocently, “ but which may one day well 
happen. Do you not think, podesta, that he who lays down 
his life for his prince merits canonization ? ’ ’ 

“That would fill the calendar too soon, in these wars. 
Signor Smees ; but I will concede you the generals and 
admirals, and other great personages. Si — a general or an 
admiral who dies for his sovereign, does deserve to be made 
a saint ; this would leave these miserable French republicans. 
Signore, without hope or honor ! ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ They are canaille, from the highest to the lowest, and 
can reasonably expect nothing better. If they wish to be 
canonized, let them restore the Bourbons, and put themselves 
lawfully in the way of such a blessing. The chase of this 
morning. Signor Vito Viti, must at least have amused the 
town ? ” 

The podesta wanted but this opening to pour out a history 
of his own emotions, sensations, and raptures. He expati- 
ated in glowing terms on the service the lugger had rendered 
the place by leading off the rascally republicans, showing 
that he considered the manoeuvre of passing the port, instead 
of entering it, as one of the most remarkable of which he 
had ever heard, or even read. 

“ I defied the vice-govematore to produce an example of 
a finer professional inspiration in the whole range of history, 
beginning with his Tacitus, and ending with your new 
English work on Roma. I doubt if the Elder Pliny, or Marc 
Antony, or even Caesar, ever did a finer thing. Signore ; and 
I am not a man addicted to extravagance in compliments. 
Had it been a fleet of vessels of three decks, instead of a 


io6 




little lugger, Christendom would have rung with the glory 
of the achievement !” 

“Had it been but a frigate, my excellent friend, the 
manoeuvre would have been unnecessary. Peste ! it is not 
a single republican ship that can make a stout English frigate 
skulk along the rocks, and fly like a thief at night.” 

“ Ah, there is the vice-governatore walking on his terrace. 
Sir Smees, and dying with impatience to greet you. We 
will drop the subject for another occasion, and a bottle of 
good Florence liquor.” 

The reception which Andrea Barrofaldi gave Raoul was 
far less warm than that he received from the podesta, though 
it was polite, and without any visible signs of distrust. 

‘ ‘ I have come. Signor Vice-governatore, ’ ’ said the priva- 
teersman, “ in compliance with positive orders from my mas- 
ter, to pay my respects to you again, and to report my 
arrival once more in your bay, though the cruise made since 
my last departure has not been so long as an East India 
voyage.” 

‘ ‘ Short as it has been, we should have reason to regret 
your absence. Signore, were it not for the admirable proofs 
it has afforded us of your resources and seamanship,” 
returned Andrea, with due complaisance. “ To own the 
truth, when I saw you depart it was with the apprehension 
that we should never enjoy this satisfaction again. But, like 
your English Sir Cicero, the second coming may prove even 
more agreeable than the first.” 

Raoul laughed, and he even had the grace to blush a lit- 
tle ; after which he appeared to reflect intensely on some 
matter of moment. Smiles struggled round his handsome 
mouth, and then he suddenly assumed an air of sailor-like 
frankness, and disclosed his passing sensations in words. 

“Signor Vice-governatore, I ask the favor of one moment’s 
private conference ; Signor Vito Viti, give us leave a single 
moment, if you please. I perceive. Signore,” continued 
Raoul, as he and Andrea walked a little aside, “ that you 
have not easily forgotten my little fanfaronade about our 
English Cicero. But what will you have ? — ^we sailors are 
sent to sea children, and we know little of books. My 




107 


excellent father, Milord Smeet, had me put in a frigate when 
I was only twelve, an age at which one knows very little of 
Ciceros, or Dantes, or Corneilles, even, as you will confess. 
Thus, when I found myself in the presence of a gentleman 
whose reputation for learning has reached far beyond the 
island he so admirably governs, a silly ambition has led me 
into a folly that he finds it hard to forgive. If I have talked 
of names of which I know nothing, it may be a weakness 
such as young men will fall into ; but surely it is no heinous 
crime. ’ ’ 

“You allow, Signore, that there has been no English Sir 
Cicero ? ” 

‘ ‘ The truth compels me to say, I know nothing about it. 
But it is hard for a very young man, and one, too, that feels 
his deficiencies of education, to admit all this to a philoso- 
pher on a first acquaintance. It becomes a different thing, 
when natural modesty is encouraged by a familiar goodness 
of heart ; and a day’s acquaintance with the Signor Barro- 
faldi is as much as a year with an ordinary man.” 

“ If this be the case. Sir Smees, I can readily understand, 
and as willingly overlook what has passed, ’ ’ returned the 
vice-governatore, with a self-complacency that in nothing fell 
short of that which Vito Viti had so recently exhibited. ‘ ‘ It 
must be painful to a sensitive mind to feel the deficiencies 
which unavoidably accompany the want of opportunities for 
study ; and I, at least, can now say how delightful it is to 
witness the ingenuousness which admits it. Then, if Eng- 
land has never possessed a Cicero in name, doubtless she has 
had many in qualifications, after allowing for the halo which 
time ever throws around a reputation. Should your duty 
often call you this way. Signore, during the summer, it will 
add to the pleasure I experience in enjoying the advantage 
of your acquaintance, to be permitted, in some slight degree, 
to direct your reading to such works, as, with a mind like 
yours, will be certain to lead to profit and pleasure.” 

Raoul made a suitable acknowledgment for this offer, and 
from that moment the best understanding existed between 
the parties. The privateersman, who had received a much 
better education than he pretended to, and who was a con- 


io8 




summate actor, as well as, on certain occasions, a practised 
flatterer, determined to be more cautious in future, sparing 
his literary conjectures, whatever liberties he might take with 
other subjects. And yet this reckless and daring mariner 
never flattered nor deceived Ghita in anything ! With her 
he had been all sincerity, the influence he had obtained over 
the feelings of that pure-minded girl being as much the 
result of the nature and real feeling he had manifested, as of 
his manly appearance and general powers of pleasing. It 
would have been, indeed, matter of interesting observation, 
for one curious in the study of human nature, to note how 
completely the girl’s innocence and simplicity of character 
had extended itself over every act of the young man, that 
was any way connected with her; preventing his even 
feigning that religion which he certainly did not feel, and the 
want of which was the sole obstacle to the union he had now 
solicited for near a twelvemonth, and which, of all others, 
was the object by far the closest to his heart. With Andrea 
Barrofaldi and Vito Viti, and most especially with the hated 
English, it was a very different thing, however ; and seldom 
was Raoul happier than when he was employed in precisely 
such a scene of mystification as that in which he was at 
that moment engaged. 

The vice-governatore having established relations so com- 
pletely amicable with the ‘ ‘ Signor Smees, ’ ’ could do no less 
than invite his guest to enter the palazzo, along with him- 
self and the podest^. As it was yet too light for the sailor 
to seek an interview with Ghita, he cheerfully accepted the 
offer ; making a careful examination of the whole of the 
northern margin of the sea, from his elevated position, how- 
ever before he crossed the threshold. This little delay, on 
Raoul’s part, enabled the podest^ to have a passing word 
with his friend, unobserved. 

“ You have found, ‘Sir Smees,’ ” said Vito Viti, with ear- 
nestness, ‘ ‘ all that your wisdom and prudence could desire, 
I trust? For my part, I consider him a most interesting 
youth ; one destined, at some future time, to lead fleets, and 
dispose of the fortunes of nations. ’ ’ 

“He is more amiable, and even better informed, than I 


TWlingsanbsMing 


109 


had thought, neighbor Vito Viti. He gives up his Sir Cicero 
with a grace that causes one regret it was necessary ; and, 
like yourself, I make no doubt of his becoming an illustrious 
admiral, in time. It is true, his father, ‘ Milordo Smees, ’ 
has not done justice to his education ; but it is not too late 
yet to repair that evil. Go, desire him to enter ; for I am 
impatient to draw his attention to certain works that may be 
useful to one in his line of life.” 

At this suggestion the podesta returned to the door, in 
order to usher the imaginary Guemsey-man into the resi- 
dence. He found Raoul still standing on the entrance, 
examining the sea. There were two or three coasters, feluc- 
cas, as usual, stealing along the coast, in the Italian fashion, 
equally afraid of the barbarians of the south shore, and of 
the French of the north. All these would have been good 
prizes ; but, to do the privateersman justice, he was little in 
the habit of molesting mariners of so low a class. There 
was one felucca, however, that was just rounding the prom- 
ontory, coming in from the north ; and with the people of 
this craft he determined to have some communication as 
soon as he returned to the port, with a view to ascertain if 
she had fallen in with the frigate. Just as he had come to 
this resolution, the podesta joined him, and he was ushered 
into the house. 

It is unnecessary to give the discoiurse which succeeded. 
It related more to hterature and matters in general, than to 
anything connected with our tale, the worthy vice-governa- 
tore being disposed to reward the ingenuousness of the 
young sailor, by furnishing him as much instruction as the 
time and circumstances would allow. Raoul bore this very 
well, waiting patiently for the light to disappear, when he 
felt a perfect confidence of again meeting Ghita on the 
promenade. As he had discovered how much more safety 
there was in diffidence than in pretension, he found his task 
of deception comparatively easy ; and by letting the vice- 
govematore have his own way, he not only succeeded in 
gaining that functionary over to a full belief in his assumed 
nationality, but in persuading him to believe the “Signor 
Smees” a young man of even more erudition than he had 


I [O 




at first supposed. By means as simple and natural as these, 
Raoul made more progress in the good graces of Andrea 
Barrofaldi in the next two hours, than he could have done 
in a year, by setting up his own knowledge and reading as 
authority. 

There is little doubt that the vice-govematore found this 
interview agreeable, from the time he was disposed to waste 
on it ; and it is certain Raoul thought it some of the hard- 
est duty in which he had ever been engaged. As for Vito 
Viti, he was edified, and he did not care to conceal it, giving 
frequent manifestations of his satisfaction, by expressions 
of delight ; occasionally venturing a remark, as if expressly 
to betray his own ignorance. 

“I have often known you great, vice-governatore,” he 
cried, when Andrea had closed a dissertation on the earlier 
history of all the northern nations, which lasted fully half- 
an-hour, ‘ ‘ but never so great as you are to-night ! Sig- 
nore, you have been most illustrious this evening ! Is it not 
so. Signor Smees ? Could any professor of Pisa, or even of 
Padua, do more justice to a subject than we have seen done 
to this to which we have been listening ? ’ ’ 

“Signor Podest^,” added Raoul, “but one feeling has 
prevailed in my mind while attending to what has been 
said ; and that has been deep regret that my profession has 
cut me off from all these rich stores of profound thought. 
But it is permitted us to admire that even which we cannot 
imitate.” 

“Quite true. Signori,” answered Andrea, with gentle 
benevolence, “but with dispositions like yours. Sir Smees, 
it is not so very difficult to imitate what we admire. I will 
write out a list of works, which I would recommend to your 
perusal ; and, by touching at Tivorno or Napoli, you will 
obtain all the books at reasonable prices. You may expect 
to see the list on your breakfast-table to-morrow morning, 
as I shall not sleep until it is completed.” 

Raoul gladly seized upon this promise as a hint to depart, 
and he took his leave with suitable acknowledgments of 
gratitude and delight. When he got out of the palazzo, 
however, he gave a long, low whistle, like a man who felt 


Ming»anb»TKIllng 


III 


he had escaped from a scene in which persecution had been 
a little lightened by the ridiculous, and uttered a few curses 
on the nations of the north, for being so inconsiderate as to 
have histories so much longer and more elaborate than he 
conceived to be at all necessary. All this passed as he has- 
tened along the promenade, which he found deserted, every 
human being having apparently left it. At length he 
thought he perceived a female form some distance ahead 
of him, and in a part of the walk that was never much 
frequented. Hastening towards it, his quick eye discerned 
the person of her he sought, evidently waiting for his 
approach. 

“Raoul,” exclaimed Ghita, reproachfully, “in what will 
these often repeated risks finally end ? When so fairly and 
cleverly out of the harbor of Porto Ferrajo, why did you 
not possess the prudence to remain there ? ’ ’ 

“Thou know’ St the reason, Ghita, and why ask this 
question? San Nettuno ! was it not handsomely done ; and 
is not this brave vice-govematore rarely mystified ! I some- 
times think, Ghita, I have mistaken my vocation, which 
should have been that of a diplomate.” 

“ And why a diplomate in particular, Raoul ? thou art too 
honest to deceive long, whatever thou mayst do on an occa- 
sion like this, and in a pressing emergency.” 

‘ ‘ Why ? — but, no matter. This Andrea Barrofaldi, and 
this Vito Viti, will one day know why. And now to our 
business, Ghita, since Te Feu-Follet cannot always decorate 
the bay of Porto Ferrajo.” 

“True,” interrupted the girl, “and I have come for no 
other purpose than to say as much myself. My dear uncle 
has arrived, and he intends to sail for the Torri with the first 
felucca.” 

“There! this has done more to make me believe in a 
Providence than all the preaching of all the padri of Italy I 
Here is the lugger to take the place of the felucca, and we 
can sail this very night. My cabin shall be yours entirely, 
and with your uncle for a protector, no one can raise an evil 
tongue against the step.” 

Ghita, to own the truth, expected this very offer, which, 


112 




agreeable as it was, her sense of propriety would certainly 
have prevented her from accepting, but for one considera- 
tion : it might be made the means of getting Raoul out of 
an enemy’s port ; and, in so much, out of harm’s way. 
This, with one of her affectionate heart, was an object to 
which she would have sacrificed appearances of even a 
graver character. We do not wish the reader, however, to 
get a false impression of this girl’s habits and education. 
Although the latter, in many particulars, was superior to 
that received by most young women of her class in life, the 
former were simple, and suited to her station, as well as to 
the usages of her country. She had not been brought up 
with that severe restraint which regulates the deportment of 
the young Italian females of condition, perhaps in a degree 
just as much too severely, as it leaves the young American 
too little restrained ; but she had been taught all that deco- 
rum and delicacy required, either for the beautiful or the 
safe ; and her notions inculcated the inexpediency, if not 
the impropriety, of one in her situation taking a passage in 
a privateer at all, and particularly so, one commanded by an 
avowed lover. But, on the other hand, the distance between 
Porto Ferrajo and the Towers was only about fifty miles, 
and a few hours would suffice to place her in safety beneath 
her own roof ; and, what was of more importance in her 
view just then, Raoul in safety along with her. On all this 
had she pondered, and she was consequently prepared with 
an answer to the proposal that had just been made. 

“ If my uncle and myself could accept this generous offer, 
when would it be convenient for you to sail, Raoul ? ’ ’ the 
girl demanded ; “we have now been absent longer than we 
intended, and longer than we ought.” 

‘ ‘ Within an hour, if there were any wind. But you see 
how it is, Ghita ; the zephyr has done blowing, and it now 
seems as if every fan of Italy had gone to sleep. You can 
depend on our sailing the instant it shall be in our power. 
At need, we shall use the sweeps. ’ ’ 

“ I will then see my uncle, and mention to him that there 
is a vessel about to sail, in which we had better embark. 
Is it not odd, Raoul, that he is profoundly ignorant of your 




113 


being in the bay? He gets more and more lost to things 
around him every day, and I do believe he does not recol- 
lect that you command an enemy’s vessel, half the time.” 

“ I^et him trust to me ; he shall never have occasion to 
know it, Ghita.” 

“We are assured of that, Raoul. The generous manner 
in which you interposed to save us from the corsair of the 
Algerines, which began our acquaintance, and for which we 
shall always have occasion to bless you, has made peace 
between you and us forever. But for your timely succor, 
last summer, my uncle and myself would now have been 
slaves with barbarians ! ” 

“That is another thing that inclines me to believe in a 
Providence, Ghita ! Tittle did I know, when rescuing you 
and your good kinsman from the boat of the Algerine, whom 
I was saving. And yet you see how all has come to pass, 
and that in saving you I have merely been serving myself.” 

“Would thou couldst learn to serve that God who dis- 
poses of us all at his holy pleasure ! ’ ’ murmured Ghita, tears 
forcing themselves to her eyes, and a convulsive effort alone 
suppressing the deep emotion with which she uttered the 
words : “but we thank thee again and again, Raoul, as the 
instrument of His mercy in the affair of the Algerine, and 
are willing to trust to thee now and always. It will be 
easy to induce my uncle to embark ; but, as he knows thy 
real character when he chooses to recollect it, I hardly think 
it will do to say with whom. We must arrange an hour 
and a place to meet, when I will see to his being there, and 
in readiness.” 

Raoul and Ghita next discussed the little details ; a place 
of rendezvous without the town, a short distance below 
the wine-house of Benedetta, being selected, in preference 
to choosing one that would necessarily subject them to obser- 
vation. This portion of the arrangement was soon settled, 
and then Ghita thought it prudent to separate. In this 
proposal her companion acquiesced with a better grace than 
he might have done, had he not the girl’s assurance of meet- 
ing him within an hour, in order that everything might be 
ready for a start with the first appearance of wind. 




1 14 

When left alone, Raoul bethought him that Ithuel and 
Filippo were on shore, as usual, the New Hampshire man 
consenting to serve only on condition of being allowed to 
land ; a privilege he always abused by driving a contraband 
trade on occasions like the present. So great was the fel- 
low’s dexterity in such matters, that Raoul — who disdained 
smuggling, while he thought himself compelled to wink at 
it in others — had less apprehensions of his committing the 
lugger than he might have felt in the case of one less cun- 
ning, But it was now necessary to get these two men off 
or abandon them ; and fortunately remembering the name 
of the wine-house where they had taken their potations the 
previous night, he repaired to it without delay, luckily find- 
ing Ithuel and his interpreter deep in the discussion of 
another flask of the favorite Tuscan beverage. ’Maso and 
his usual companions were present also, and there being 
nothing unusual in the commander of an English ship of 
war’s liking good liquor, Raoul, to prevent suspicion, drew 
a chair and asked for his glass. By the conversation that 
followed, the young privateersman felt satisfied that, though 
he might have succeeded in throwing dust into the eyes of 
the vice-governatore and the podesta, these experienced old 
seamen still distrusted his character. It was so unusual a 
thing for a French frigate, while it was so usual for an Eng- 
lish frigate to be standing along the coast, near in, that these 
mariners — ^who were familiar with all such matters, had 
joined this circumstance to the suspicious signs about the 
lugger, and were strongly disposed to believe the truth con- 
cerning both vessels. To all this, however, Raoul was more 
indifferent than he might have been but for the arrangement 
to sail so soon. He took his wine, therefore, with apparent 
indifference, and in proper season withdrew, carrying with 
him Ithuel and the Genoese. 




CHAPTER VIII. 

** Within our bay, one stormy night, 

The isle’s men saw boats make for shore, 

With here and there a dancing light 
That flashed on man and oar. 

When hailed, the rowing stopped, and all was dark. 

Ha ! lantern work ! We ’ll home ! They ’re playing shark ! ” 

Dana. 

I T was dark when Raoul quitted the government-house, 
leaving Andrea Barrofaldi and Vito Viti in the library 
of the former. No sooner was the young seaman’s 
back turned, than the vice-govematore, who was in a 
humor to display his acquirements, resumed a discussion 
that he had found so agreeable to his self-esteem. 

“ It is easy to see, good Vito Viti, that this young Inglese 
is a gentleman of noble birth, though not of a liberal educa- 
tion, ’ ’ he said ; ‘ ‘ doubtless his father, Milordo Smees, has a 
large family, and the usages of England are different from 
those of Italy, in respect to birthright. There, the eldest 
son alone inherits the honors of the family, while the cadets 
are put into the army and navy, to earn new distinctions. 
Nelsoni is the son of a priest, I hear — ’ ’ 

“ Cospetto ! of a padre ! Signor Vice-governatore, ” inter- 
rupted the podest^, “it is most indecent to own it. A 
priest must be possessed of the devil, himself, to own his 
issue ; though issue he may certainly have.’’ 

“There, again, good Vito, it is different with the Euter- 
ani and us Catholics. The priests of England, you will 
please remember, marry, while ours do not.” 

“ I should not like to be shrived by such a padre ! The 
man would be certain to tell his wife all I confessed ; and 

115 


ii6 




the saints could only say what would be the end on’t. 
Porto Ferrajo would soon be too hot to hold an honest man, 
ay, or even an honest woman, in the bargain.” 

‘ ‘ But the Luterani do not confess, and are never shrived 
at all, you will remember. ’ ’ 

“ San Stefano ! How do they expect, then, ever to get to 
heaven ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ I will not answer that they do, friend Vito ; and we 
are certain, that if they have such expectations, they must 
be most treacherous to them. But, talking of this Sir Smees, 
you perceive in his air and manner the finesse of the Anglo- 
Saxon race ; which is a people altogether distinct from the 
ancient Gauls, both in history and character. Pietro Gian- 
none, in his Storia Civile del Regiio di Napoli^ speaks of the 
Normans, who were a branch of these adventurers, with 
great interest and particularity ; and I think I can trace, in 
this youth, some of the very peculiarities that are so admir- 
ably delineated in his well-told, but too free writings. Well, 
Pietro ; I was not speaking of thee, but of a namesake of 
thine of the family of Giannona, an historian of Naples, of 
note and merit ; and what is thy will ? ’ ’ 

This question was put to a servant who entered at that 
moment, holding in his hand a piece of paper, which he 
desired to lay before his master. 

“ A cavaliere is without, Signor Andrea, who asks the 
honor of an audience ; and who sends in his name, as your 
Eccellenza will find it on this paper. ’ ’ 

The vice-governatore took the slip of paper, and read 
aloud : “ Edward Grifiin, tenente della marina Inglesa.” 

“Ah ! here is an officer sent from ze Ving-y-Ving with 
some communication, friend Vito ; it is fortunate you are 
still here, to hear what he has to say. Show the lieutenant 
in, Pietro.” 

One who understood Englishmen better than Andrea 
Barrofaldi, would have been satisfied, at a glance, that he 
who now entered was really a native of that country. He 
was a young man of some two- or three-and-twenty, of a 
ruddy, round, good-natured face, wearing an undress coat 
of the service to which he professed to belong, and whose 




II7 


whole air and manner betrayed his profession, quite as much 
as his country. The salutations he uttered were in very 
respectable Italian, familiarity with the language being the 
precise reason why he had been selected for the errand on 
which he had come. After these salutations, he put a piece 
of parchment into Andrea’s hand, remarking, — 

‘ ‘ If you read English, Signore, you will perceive by that 
commission I am the person I represent myself to be.” 

‘ ‘ Doubtless, Signor Tenente, you belong to ze Ving-y- 
Ving, and are a subordinate of Sir Smees ? ’ ’ 

The young man looked surprised, and, at the same time, 
half disposed to laugh ; though a sense of decorum sup- 
pressed the latter inclination. 

“I belong to His Britannic Majesty’s ship Proserpine, 
Signore, ’ ’ he dryly answered, ‘ ‘ and know not what you mean 
by the Ving-y-Ving. Captain Cufie, of that ship, the fri- 
gate you saw off your harbor this morning, has sent me 
down in the felucca that got in this evening, to communicate 
intelligence concerning the lugger, which we chased to the 
southward about nine o’clock, but which, I see, is again 
snug at her anchor in this bay. Our ship was lying behind 
Capraya, when I left her, but will be here to take me off, 
and to hear the news, before daylight, should the wind ever 
blow again.” 

Andrea Barrofaldi and Vito Viti stared, and that, too, as 
if a messenger had come from the lower regions to summon 
them away for their misdeeds. Tieutenant Griffin spoke 
unusually good Italian, for a foreigner ; and his manner of 
proceeding was so straightforward and direct, as to carry 
with it every appearance of truth. 

“You do not know what I mean by ze Ving-y-Ving ? ” 
demanded the vice-govematore, with emphasis. 

“To be frank with you, I do not, Signore. Ving-y-Ving 
is not English ; nor do I know that it is Italian.” 

Mr. Griffin lost a good deal of ground by this assertion, 
which implied a doubt of Andrea’s knowledge of foreign 
tongues. 

“You say. Signor Tenente, if I comprehend your mean- 
ing, that Ving-y-Ving is not English ? ” 


ii8 




“Indeed I do, sir; at least no English that I have ever 
heard spoken, at sea or ashore ; and we seamen have a lan- 
guage of our own. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Will you, then, permit me to ask you what is the trans- 
lation of Ala-e-Ala, word for word.” 

The lieutenant paused a moment, and pondered. Then 
he laughed involuntarily, checking himself almost immedi- 
ately, with an air of respect and gravity. 

‘ ‘ I believe I now understand you. Signor Vice-governa- 
tore,” he said ; “we have a sea-phrase, something like this, 
to describe a fore-and-aft vessel with her sails swinging off 
on both sides ; but we call it wing-and-wing.” 

“ Si, Signore — ^ving-y-ving. Such is the name of the lug- 
ger of your king, that now lies in our bay.” 

“Ah! we thought as much. Signori; the scoundrel has 
deceived you, as he has done a hundred before you, and 
will do a hundred again, unless we catch him to-night. The 
lugger is a celebrated French privateer, that we have six 
cruisers in chase of at this moment, our own ship included. 
She is called Ee Feu-Follet, which is not Wing-and-Wing, 
but Will-o’ -the- Wisp, or Jack-o’-Eantern, in English; and 
which you, in Italian, would call II Fuoco Fatuo. Her com- 
mander is Raoul Yvard, than whom there is not a greater 
desperado sailing out of France ; though it is admitted that 
the fellow has some good — nay, some noble qualities.” 

At every word uttered by the lieutenant, a page of history 
was blotted out from the memory of his listener. The vice- 
governatore had heard the name of Raoul Yvard, and even 
that of Ee Feu-Follet, which the malignancy of a bitter war 
had blackened nearly to the hues of piracy. The thought 
that he had been the dupe of this corsair — nay, that he had 
actually been entertaining him with honors and hospitality, 
within an hour, was almost too much for his philosophy. 
Men do not often submit to such humiliating sensations 
without a struggle ; and before he would, or coiild, accord 
full credence to what was now told him, it was natural to 
oppose the objections that first offered. 

‘ ‘ All this must be a mistake, ’ ’ observed the vice-govem- 
atore; “there are English as well as French luggers; and 


Timtn0*an^s*Mina 


119 

this is one of the former. Her commander is a noble Eng- 
lish gentleman, a son of Milordo Smees ; and though his 
education had been in a trifling degree neglected, he shows 
his origin and national character in all he says and does. Ze 
Ving-y-Ving is commanded by Sir Smees, a young officer 
of merit, as you must have seen yourself. Signore, by his 
evolutions this very morning. Surely, you have heard of 
II Capitano Sir Smees, the son of Milordo Smees ! ” 

“We do not deny that his escape, this morning, was a 
clever thing, Vice-govematore, for the fellow is a seaman, 
every inch of him ; and he is as brave as a lion ; but, then, 
he is as impudent as a beggar’s dog. There is no Sir 
Smees, nor Sir anybody else, in command of any of our lug- 
gers, anywhere. In the Mediterranean, we have no cruiser 
of this rig at all ; and the two or three we have elsewhere 
are commanded by old sea-dogs, who have been brought up 
in that sort of craft. As for Sirs, they are scarce out here, 
though the battle of the Nile has made a few of them for 
the navy. Then you ’ll not meet with a nobleman’s son in a 
clipper like this, for that sort of gentry generally go from a 
fngate’s quarter-deck into a good sloop, as commander, and 
after a twelvemonth’s work, or so, in the small one, into a 
fast frigate again, as a post-captain.” 

Much of this was gibberish to Andrea Barrofaldi, but 
Griffin being exclusively naval, he fancied every one ought to 
take the same interest as he did himself in all these matters. 
But, while the vice-govematore did not understand more 
than half of the other’s meaning, that half sufficed to render 
him exceedingly uneasy. The natural manner of the lieuten- 
ant, too, carried conviction with it, while all the original im- 
pressions against the lugger were revived by his statements. 

‘ ‘ What say you. Signor Vito Viti ? ’ ’ demanded Andrea ; 
‘ ‘ you have been present at the interviews with Sir Smees. ’ ’ 
‘ ‘ That we have been deceived by one of the most oily- 
•^^^gued rogues that ever took in honest men, if we have 
q'F deceived at all, Vice-govematore. East evening, I 
tP'^uld have believed this ; but since the escape and return 
of the lugger, I could have sworn that we had an excellent 
friend and ally in our bay.” 


120 




“You had your signals, Signor Tenente ; and that is 
proof of amity and understanding.” 

“We made our number, when we saw the lugger with an 
English ensign set, for we did not suppose a Frenchman 
would be quietly lying in a Tuscan port ; but the answer we 
got was nonsense ; and then we remembered to have heard 
that this Raoul Yvard was in the habit of playing such 
tricks, all along the Italian coast. Once on the scent, we 
were not the men to be easily thrown off it. You saw the 
chase, and know the result.” 

“ There must be some error in all this ! Would it not be 
well. Signore, to see the commander of the lugger — or to go 
on board of her and satisfy yourself, with your own eyes, 
of the truth or falsehood of your surmises ? Ten minutes 
might clear up everything.” 

“Your pardon. Signor Vice-governatore ; were I to trust 
myself on board Ee Feu-Follet, I might remain a prisoner 
until a peace was made ; and I have yet two steps to gain 
before I can afford that risk. Then as to letting Yvard 
know of my presence here, it would just give him the 
alarm, and cause us to lose the bird, before we can spring the 
net. My orders are positive, not to let any one but the 
authorities of the island know of my visit, or its object. All 
we ask of you is to detain the lugger until morning ; then 
we will see to it, that she will never trouble the Italian coast 
again. ’ ’ 

“Nay, Signore, we have guns of our own, and could 
easily dispose of so small a vessel, once assured of her being 
an enemy,” returned the vice-go vematore, with a little pride 
and loftiness of manner; “convince us of that fact, and 
we ’ll sink the lugger at her anchors.” 

“That is just what we do not wish you to do. Signore,” 
answered the lieutenant, with interest. “ From what passed 
this morning. Captain Cuffe has thought it probable that 
Monsieur Yvard, for some reason best known to himself, 
would come back here as soon as he was rid of us ; oral fo 
finding himself on the south side of the island, he migu. 
put into Porto Eongone ; and, had I not met him here, I was 
to get a horse, and ride across to the latter place, and make 


ming=an&=Mfn9 


I2I 


my arrangements there. We wish by all means to get pos- 
session of the lugger, which, in smooth water, is the fastest 
craft in the Mediterranean, and would be of infinite service 
to us. We think the Proserpine would prove too much for 
her, blowing fresh ; but, in moderate weather, she will go 
six feet to our five. Now, if you open on her, she will 
either escape or be sunk ; for Raoul Yvard is not a man to 
strike to a town. All I ask is to be permitted to make 
night-signals, for which I am prepared, as soon as the 
fngate approaches, and that you will throw all the delays, 
by means of forms and permits, in the way of the French- 
man’s sailing, until to-morrow morning. We will answer 
for the rest. ’ ’ 

“ I should think there would be but little danger of the 
lugger’s departing in the night. Signor Tenente, her com- 
mander rather expressing an intention of passing several 
days with us ; and it is this ease and confidence of his, 
which cause me to think that he cannot be the person you 
take him for. Why should Raoul Yvard and I^e Feu-Follet 
come into Porto Ferrajo at all ? ” 

“No one knows: it is the man’s habit: and doubtless 
he has reasons for it. ’Tis said, he has even been in at 
Gibraltar ; and it is certain he has cut several valuable store- 
ships out of our convoys. There is an Austrian loading 
with iron, I perceive, in the harbor ; probably he is waiting 
for her to fill up, and finds it easier to watch her at anchor, 
than by lying outside.” 

“You naval gentlemen have ways known only to your- 
selves ; all this may be so, but it seems an enigma to me. 
Have you any other proofs of your own character. Signor 
Tenente, than the commission you have shown me ? for Sir 
Smees, as I have been taught to call the commander of the 
lugger, has one too, that has an air of as much authenticity 
as this you have shown ; and he wears quite as Knglish- 
looking a uniform ; how am I to judge between you? ” 

“That difficulty has been foreseen, Signor Vice-governa- 
tore, and I come well provided with the necessary proofs. 
I handed you my commission, as that is a document, which, 
if wanting, might throw a distrust on all other proofs. But 


122 




here is a communication from your superior at Florence, 
recommending us to the kindness of the authorities of all 
the Tuscan ports, which you will readily understand. Cap- 
tain Cuffe has furnished me with other proofs, which you 
can look over at your leisure.” 

Andrea Barrofaldi now set about a cautious and deliber- 
ate examination of the papers shown him. They proved to 
be of a nature to remove every doubt ; and it was not possible 
to distrust the party that presented them. This was a great 
deal towards convicting the Signor Smees of imposition, 
though both the vice-governatore and the podest^ were of 
opinion that Captain Cuffe might yet be mistaken as to the 
identity of the lugger. 

“ It is impossible. Signori,” answered the lieutenant ; ‘‘we 
know every English cruiser in these seas, by name and 
description at least, and most of them by sight. This is 
none ; and everything about her, particularly her sailing, 
betrays her real name. We hear there is a man in her who 
once belonged to our own ship, a certain Ithuel Bolt, — ” 

‘ ‘ Cospetto ! ’ ’ exclaimed the podesta ; ‘ ‘ then we must set 
down this Sir Smees, after all, for an arrant rogue ; for this 
is the very man we met at Benedetta’s the past night. An 
Americano, Signor Tenente, is he not ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Why, the fellow pretends to be some such thing, ’ ’ 
answered the young man, coloring, for he was loath to con- 
fess the wrong that had been done the deserter ; ‘ ‘ but half 
the British seamen one falls in with nowadays call themselves 
Americans, in order to escape serving his majesty. I rather 
think this rascal is a Cornish or a Devonshire man ! he has 
the twang and the nasal sing-song of that part of the island. 
If an American, however, we have a better right to him than 
the French ; speaking our language, and being descended 
from a common ancestry, and having a common character, 
it is quite unnatural for an American to serve any but the 
English.” 

‘ ‘ I did not know that, Vice-governatore ! I thought the 
Americani a very inferior sort of people to us Europeans, 
generally ; and that they could scarcely claim to be our 
equals in any sense.” 




123 


“You are quite right, Signor Podesta,” said the lieuten- 
ant, briskly ; “ they are all you think them ; and any one 
can see that a glance. Degenerate Englishmen, we call 
them in the service. ’ ’ 

“And yet you take them occasionally, Signor Tenente ; 
and, as I understand from this Ithuello, frequently contrary 
to their wishes, and by force,” dryly observed Andrea Bar- 
rofaldi. 

“ How can we help it. Signore? the king has a right to, 
and he has need of the services of all his own seamen ; and, 
in the hurry of impressing, we sometimes make a mistake. 
Then, these Yankees are so like our own people, that I 
would defy the devil himself to tell them apart.” 

The vice-govematore thought there was something contra- 
dictory in all this, and he subsequently said as much to his 
friend the podest^ ; but the matter went no further at the 
moment, most probably because he ascertained that the 
young lieutenant was only using what might be termed a 
national argument ; the English government constantly pro- 
testing that it was impossible to distinguish one people from 
the other, quoad this particular practice ; while nothing was 
more offensive, to their eyes, in the abstract, than to main- 
tain any affinity in appearance or characteristics. 

The result of the discussion, notwithstanding, was to 
make the two Italians reluctant converts to the opinions of 
the Englishman, that the lugger was the dreaded and obnox- 
ious Feu-Follet. Once convinced, however, shame, revenge, 
and mortification, united with duty to quicken their exer- 
tions, and to render them willing assistants in executing the 
.schemes of Captain Cuffe. It was, perhaps, fortunate for 
Raoul and his associates that the English officers had so 
strong a desire, as Griffin expressed it, “to take the lugger 
alive ’ ’ ; else might she have been destroyed where she lay, 
by removing a gun or two from its proper embrasure, and 
planting them behind some natural ramparts among the 
rocks. The night was dark, it is true, but not so much so 
as to render a vessel indistinct at the short distance at which 
Ee Feu-Follet lay; and a cannonade would have been 
abundantly certain. 


124 




When all parties were of a mind as to the true character 
of the little craft in the bay, a consultation was had on the 
details of the course proper to be pursued. A window of 
the government-house that looked towards the direction of 
Capraya, or that in which the Proserpine was expected to 
arrive, was assigned to Griffin. The young man took his 
station at it about midnight, in readiness to burn the blue- 
lights with which he was provided, the instant he should dis- 
cern the signals of his ship. The position of this window 
was well adapted to the desired object, inasmuch as the 
lights could not be seen from the town, while they were 
plainly open to the sea. The same was essentially true as 
to the signals of the frigate, the heights interposing between 
her and the houses ; and there being a still greater phys- 
ical impossibility that anything lying in the bay should dis- 
cover an object at sea on the northern side of the promon- 
tory. 

In this manner, then, did hour after hour pass away, a 
light land-breeze blowing, but coming so directly into the 
bay as to induce Raoul not to lift his kedge. Ghita, and 
her uncle. Carlo Giuntotardi, had come off about ten ; but 
there were still no signs of movements on board the lugger. 
To own the truth, Raoul was in no hurry to sail, for the 
longer his departure was protracted, the longer would he 
have the happiness of retaining the lovely girl on board ; 
and the zephyr of the succeeding day would be almost cer- 
tain to carry Te Feu-Follet up to the island-like promontory 
of Monte Argentaro, the point where stood the watch-towers 
of which Carlo was the keeper, and in one of which he 
resided. Under these circumstances, therefore, it is not sur- 
prising that the rising of the land breeze was overlooked, 
or at least disregarded ; and that Raoul sat conversing with 
Ghita on deck until long past midnight, ere he allowed her 
to seek her little cabin, where everything had been properly 
arranged for her reception. To own the truth, Raoul was 
so confident of having completely mystified all on shore, 
that he felt no apprehensions from that quarter ; and, desir- 
ous of prolonging his present happiness as much as possible, 
he had very coolly determined not to sail until the southerly 




125 


air of the morning should come; which, as usual, would 
just suffice to carry him well into the canal, when the 
zephyr would do the rest. I^ittle did this hardy adventurer 
suspect what had occurred on shore since he quitted it ; nor 
was he at all aware that Tommaso Tonti was at watch in 
the harbor, ready to report the slightest indication, on the 
part of the lugger, of a wish to quit the bay. 

But, while Raoul was so indifferent to the danger he ran, 
the feeling was quite the reverse with Ithuel Bolt. The 
Proserpine was the bane of this man’s life ; and he not only 
hated every stick and every timber in her, but every officer 
and man who was attached to her, the king whose colors she 
wore, and the nation whose interest she served. An active 
hatred is the most restless of all passions ; and this feeling 
made Ithuel keenly alive to every chance which might still 
render the frigate dangerous to the lugger. He thought it 
probable the former would return in quest of her enemy ; 
and, expressly with a view to this object, when he turned in 
at nine, he left orders to be called at two, that he might be 
on the alert in season. 

Ithuel was no sooner awaked than he called two trusty 
men, whom he had prepared for the purpose, entered a light 
boat that was lying in readiness, on the off side of the lug- 
ger, and pulled with muffied oars towards the eastern part 
of the bay. When sufficiently distant from the town to 
escape observation, he changed his course, and proceeded 
directly out to sea. Half an hour sufficed to carry the boat 
as far as Ithuel deemed necessary, leaving him about a mile 
from the promontory, and so far to the westward as to give 
him a fair view of the window at which Griffin had taken 
post. 

The first occurrence out of the ordinary course of things 
that struck the American was the strong light of a lamp 
shining through an upper window of the government-house 
—not that at which the lieutenant was posted, but one above 
it — and which had been placed there expressly as an in- 
dication to the frigate, that Griffin had arrived, and was 
actively on duty. It was now two o’clock, or an hour or two 
before the appearance of light, and the breeze off the ad- 


126 




joining continent was sufficiently strong to force a good sail- 
ing vessel, whose canvas had been thickened by the damps 
of night, some four knots through the water ; and as Ca- 
praya was less than thirty miles from Porto Ferrajo, abun- 
dant time had been given to the Proserpine to gain her 
offing ; that ship having come from behind her cover, as 
soon as the sun had set, and the haze of evening settled upon 
the sea. 

Ithuel, usually so loquacious and gossiping in his moments 
of leisure, was silent and observant when he had anything 
serious on hand. His eye was still on the window in which 
the lamp was visible, the pure olive oil that was burning in 
it throwing out a clear, strong flame ; when suddenly a blue- 
light flashed beneath the place, and he got a momentary 
glimpse of the body of a man who held it, as he leaned 
forward from another window. The motion which now 
turned his head seaward was instinctive ; it was just in time 
to let him detect a light descending apparently into the water 
like a falling star ; but which, in fact, was merely a signal 
lantern of the Proserpine coming rapidly down from the end 
of her gaffi 

“Ah! d n you,” said Ithuel, grating his teeth, and 

shaking his fist in the direction of the spot where this tran- 
sient gleam of brightness had disappeared, ‘ ‘ I know you, 
and your old tricks, with your lanterns and night-signals. 
Here goes the answer.” 

As he said this, he touched a rocket of which he had sev- 
eral in the boat, with the lighted end of the cigar he had 
been smoking, and it went hissing up into the air, ascending 
so high as to be plainly visible from the deck of Te Feu- 
Follet before it exploded. Griffin saw this signal with 
wonder ; the frigate noted it with embarrassment, for it was 
far to seaward of the lamp ; and even ’Maso conceived it 
necessary to quit his station, in order to report the circum- 
stance to the colonel, whom he was to call in the event of 
any unusual occurrence. The common impression, how- 
ever, among all these parties was, that a second cruiser had 
come through the canal, from the southward, in the course 
of the night, and that she wished to notify the Proserpine 


Mingsan&sMina 


127 


of her position, probably expecting to meet that ship off the 
island. 

On board I^e Feu-Follet the effect was different. The 
land-breeze of Italy is a side-wind to vessels quitting the bay 
of Porto Ferrajo ; and two minutes after the rocket ex- 
ploded, the lugger was gliding almost imperceptibly, and yet 
at the rate of a knot or two, under her jigger and jib, toward 
the outer side of the port, or along the very buildings past 
which she had brushed the previous day. This movement 
was made at the critical instant when ’Maso was off his watch ; 
and the ordinary sentinels of the works had other duties to 
attend to. So light was this little vessel that a breath of 
air set her in motion, and nothing was easier than to get 
three or four knots out of her in smodlh water, especially 
when she opened the comparatively vast folds of her two 
principal lugs. This she did when close under the citadel, 
or out of sight of the town, the sentinels above hearing the 
flaps of her canvas, without exactly understanding whence 
they came. At this instant Ithuel let off a second rocket, 
and the lugger showed a light on her starboard bow, so con- 
cealed, however, on all sides but one, as to be visible only in 
the direction of the boat. As this was done, she put her 
helm hard down, and hauled her fore-sheet over flat to wind- 
ward. Five minutes later, Ithuel had reached her deck, and 
the boat was hauled in as if it had been inflated silk. De- 
ceived by the second rocket, the Proserpine now made her 
number with regular signal lanterns, with the intention of 
obtaining that of the stranger, trusting that the promontory 
would conceal it from the vessels in the bay. This told 
Raoul the precise position of his enemy, and he was not 
sorry to see that he was already to the westward of her ; a 
fact that permitted him to slip round the island again, so 
near in as to be completely concealed by the background 
of cliffs. By the aid of an excellent night-glass, too, he was 
enabled to see the frigate, distant about a league, under 
everything that would draw, from her royals down, standing 
towards the mouth of the bay on the larboard tack ; having 
made her calculations so accurately as to drop in to windward 
of her port, with the customary breeze off the land. At this 


128 




sight Raoul laughed, and ordered the mainsail taken In. 
Half an hour later, he directed the foresail to be brailed ; 
brought his jigger-sheet in flat, put his helm hard down, and 
hauled the jib-sheet to windward. 

As this last order was executed, day was just breaking 
over the mountains of Radicofani and Aquapendente. By 
this time I,e Feu-Follet lay about a league to the westward 
of the promontory, and abreast of the deep bay that has 
been already mentioned as being in that direction from the 
town. Of course she was far beyond the danger of missiles 
from the land. The night wind, however, had now failed, 
and there was every appearance that the morning would 
be calm. In this there was nothing extraordinary, at that 
season ; the winds Vhich prevailed from the south being 
usually short and light, unless accompanied by a gust. Just 
as the sun appeared, the south air came, it is true, but so 
lightly as to render it barely possible to keep the little 
lugger in command, by heaving-to with her head to the 
southwest. 

The Proserpine stood in until the day had advanced far 
enough to enable her look-outs to detect Te Feu-Follet 
braving her, as it might be, in the western board, at the dis- 
tance of about a league and a half, under her jib and jigger, 
as described. This sight produced a great commotion in the 
ship, even the watch below “tumbling up,” to get another 
sight of a craft so renowned for evading the pursuit of all 
the English cruisers of those seas. A few minutes later 
Griffin came off, chopfallen and disappointed. His flrst 
glance at the countenance of his superior announced a com- 
ing storm ; for the commander of a vessel of war is no more 
apt to be reasonable, under disappointment, than any other 
potentate. Captain Cufife had not seen fit to wait for his 
subordinate on deck ; but, as soon as it was ascertained that 
he was coming off in a shore-boat, he retired to his cabin, 
leaving orders with the first lieutenant, whose nanie was 
Winchester, to send Mr. Griffin below the instant he 
reported himself. 

“Well, sir,” commenced Cufle, as soon as his lieutenant 
came into the after-cabin, without offering him a seat. 


MinGsan&^Minfl 


129 


‘ ‘ here we are ; and out yonder, two or three leagues at sea, 

is the d d Few-Folly ! ” for so most of the seamen of the 

English service pronounced “ Feu-Follet.” 

“I beg your pardon. Captain CufFe,” answered Griffin, 
who found himself compelled to appear a delinquent, 
whatever might be the injustice of the situation; “it 
could not be helped. We got in, in proper time ; and I 
went to work with the deputy-governor, and an old chap 
of a magistrate who was with him, as soon as I could get 
up to the house of the first. Yvard had been beforehand 
with me : and I had to under-run about a hundred of his 
lying yams before I could enter the end of an idea of my 
own — ’ ’ 

“You speak Italian, sir, like a Neapolitan born; and 
I depended on your doing everything as it should have 
been.” 

“Not so much like a Neapolitan, I hope. Captain Cufie, 
as like a Tuscan or a Roman,” returned Griffin, biting his 
lip. ‘ ‘ After an hour of pretty hard and lawyer-like work, 
and overhauling all the documents, I did succeed in convinc- 
ing the two Elban gentry of my own character, and of that 
of the lugger ! ” 

“And while you were playing advocate. Master Raoul 
Yvard coolly lifted his anchor, and walked out of the bay, 
as if he were just stepping into his garden to pick a nosegay 
for his sweetheart ! ’ ’ 

“No, sir, nothing of the sort happened. As soon as 
I had satisfied the Signor Barrofaldi, the vice-governa- 
tore — ” 

“ Veechy-govern-the-tory ! D n all veechys and d n 

all the governatorys, too ; do speak English, Griffin, on 
board an English ship, if you please, even should your 
Italian happen to be Tuscan. Call the fellow vice-governor 
at once, if that be his rank.” 

“Well, sir, as soon as I had satisfied the vice-governor 
that the lugger was an enemy, and that we were friends, 
everything went smoothly enough. He wanted to sink the 
lugger, as she lay at her anchor.” 

“And why the devil didn’t he do it? Two or three 
9 


130 




heavy shot would have given her a stronger dose than she 
could bear.” 

” You know, Captain Cufife, it has all along been your 
wish to take her alive. I thought it would tell so well for 
the ship, to have it to say she had caught I^e Feu-Follet, 
that I opposed the project. I know Mr. Winchester hopes 
to get her, as a reward for carrying her, himself. ’ ’ 

“Ay, and that would make you first. Well, sir, even 
if you didn’t sink her, it was no reason for letting her 
escape.” 

“We could not prevent it. Captain Cuffe. I had a look- 
out set upon her — one of the very best men in Porto 
Ferrajo, as everybody will tell you, sir ; and I made the 
signals of the lamp and the blue-lights, as agreed upon ; 
and, the ship answering, I naturally thought all was as it 
should be, until — ” 

“And who burnt the rockets off here, where we are at 
this moment? They deceived me, for I took them to be 
signals of their presence, from the Weasel or the Spar- 
row. When I saw those rockets, Griffin, I was just as 
certain of the Few-Folly as I am now of having my own 
ship ! ” 

“Yes, sir, those rockets did all the mischief; for I have 
since learned that as soon as the first one' was thrown, Mas- 
ter Yvard tripped his kedge, and w?nt out of the bay as 
quietly as one goes out of a dining-room, when he don’t wish 
to disturb the company.” 

“Ay, he took French leave, the b — —y sans culotte^^' 
returned the captain, putting himself in a better humor with 
his own pun. “ But did you see nothing of all this ? ” 

‘ ‘ The first I knew of the matter, sir, was seeing the lug- 
ger gliding along under the rocks, so close in, that you might 
have jumped aboard her ; and it was too late to stop her. 
Before those lazy far nientes could have pricked and primed, 
she was out of gun-shot.” 

“ Tazy what? ” demanded the captain. 

Far 7iientes, sir; which is a nickname we give these 
siesta-gentry, you know. Captain Cuffe.” 

“ I know nothing about it, sir ; and I ’ll thank you always 




131 


to speak to me in English, Mr. Griffin. That is a language 
which, I flatter myself, I understand ; and it ’s quite good 
enough for all my wants.” 

“ Yes, sir, and for any man’s wants. I’m sure, I am 
sorry I can speak Italian, since it has led to this mistake. ’ ’ 
“Poh — poh — Griffin, you mustn’t lay everything to 
heart that comes wrong end foremost. Dine with me to- 
day, and we ’ll talk the matter over at leisure.” 




CHAPTER IX. 


Now in the fervid noon the smooth bright sea 
Heaves slowly, for the wandering winds are dead 
That stirred it into foam. The lonely ship 
Rolls wearily, and idly flap the sails 
Against the creaking masts. The lightest sound 
Is lost not on the ear, and things minute 
Attract the observant eye.” 

Richardson. 

T hus terminated the setting-down, like many others 
that Captain Cufife had resolved to give, but 
which usually ended in a return to good-nature 
and reason. The steward was told to set a plate 
for Mr. Griffin among the other guests, and then the 
commander of the frigate followed the lieutenant on deck. 
Here he found every officer in the ship, all looking at Ee 
Feu-Follet with longing eyes, and most of them admiring 
her appearance, as she lay on the mirror-like Mediter- 
ranean, with the two light sails mentioned, just holding her 
stationary. 

“ A regular-built snake-in- the-grass ! ” growled the boat- 
swain, Mr. Strand, who was taking a look at the lugger 
over the hammock-cloths of the waist, as he stood on the 
heel of a spare top-mast to do so ; “I never fell in with a 

scamp that had a more d n-my-eyes look ! ” 

This was said in a sort of soliloquy, for Strand was not 
exactly privileged to address a quarter-deck officer on such 
an occasion, though several stood within hearing, and was 
far too great a man to enlighten his subordinates with his 
cogitations. It was overheard by Cuffe, however, who just 

132 


Mtn()=an£i=Mfng 


133 


at that instant stepped into the gangway to make an 
examination for himself. 

“It is a snake-^7z^^of-the-grass, rather, Strand,” observed 
the captain, for he could speak to whom he pleased, without 
presumption or degradation. “ Had she stayed in port, now, 
she would have been in the grass, and we might have 
scotched her. ’ ’ 

“Well, your honor, we can Efiglish her, as it is; and 
that ’ll be quite as nat’ral, and quite as much to the purpose, 
as Scotching any day,” answered Strand, who, being a 
native of lyondon, had a magnificent sort of feeling towards 
all the dependencies of the empire, and to whom the word 
Scotch, in that sense, was Greek, though he well understood 
what it meant ‘ ‘ to clap a Scotchman on a rope ” ; “we are 
likely to have a flat calm all the morning, and our boats are 
in capital order ; and, then, nothing will be more agreeable 
to our gentlemen than a row.” 

Strand was a gray-headed seaman, and he had served 
with Captain Cuffe when the latter was a midshipman, and 
had even commanded the top, of which the present boat- 
swain had been the captain. He knew the ‘ ‘ cut of the 
captain’s jib ” better than any other man in the Proserpine, 
and often succeeded with his suggestions, when Winchester 
and the other lieutenants failed. His superior now turned 
round, and looked him intently in the face, as if struck with 
the notion the other thus indirectly laid before him. This 
movement was noted ; and, at a sign secretly given by 
Winchester, the whole crew gave three hearty cheers ; 
Strand leading off, as soon as he caught the idea. This 
is the only manner in which the crew of a man-of-war can 
express their wishes to their commander ; it being always 
tolerated, in a navy, to hurrah, by way of showing the 
courage of a ship’s company. Cuffe walked aft, in a 
thoughtful manner, and descended to his cabin again ; but a 
servant soon came up, to say that the captain desired to see 
the first lieutenant. 

“I do not half like this boat-service in open daylight, 
Winchester,” observed the senior, beckoning to the other to 
take a chair. “ The least bungling may spoil it all ; and 


134 




then it ’s ten to one but your ship goes half-manned for a 
twelvemonth, until you are driven to pressing from colliers 
and neutrals.” 

“But we hope, sir, there’ll be no bungling in anything 
that the Proserpine undertakes. Nine times in ten, an 
English man-of-war succeeds, when she makes a bold dash 
in boats against one of these picaroons. This lugger is so 
low in the water, too, that it will be like stepping from one 
cutter into another to get upon her decks ; and then, sir, I 
suppose, you don’t doubt what Englishmen will do ? ” 

“Ay, Winchester, once on her deck, I make no doubt 
you ’d carry her ; but it may not be so easy as you imagine, 
to get on her deck. Of all duty to a captain, this of send- 
ing off boats is the most unpleasant. He cannot go in 
person, and if anything unfortunate turns up, he never for- 
gives himself. Now, it’s a very different thing with a 
fight in which all share alike ; and the good or evil comes 
equally on all hands.” 

‘ ‘ Quite true. Captain Cuffe ; and yet this is the only 
chance that the lieutenants have for getting ahead a little, 
out of the regular course. I have heard, sir, that you were 
made commander for cutting out some coasters in the begin- 
ning of the war.” 

“You have not been misinformed ; and a devil of a risk 
we all ran. Euck saved us, and that was all. One more 
fire from a cursed carronade would have given a Flemish 
account of the whole party ; for, once get a little under, and 
you suffer like game in a batteau^ Captain Cuffe wished 
to say battue ; but despising foreign languages, he generally 
made sad work with them, whenever he did condescend to 
resort to their terms, however familiar. “ This Raoul Yvard 
is a devil incarnate, himself, at this boarding work ; and is 
said to have taken off the head of a master’s mate of the 
Theseus with one clip of his sword, when he retook that 
ship’s prize, in the affair of last winter,— that which hap- 
pened off Alicant ! ” 

“ I ’ll warrant you, sir, the master’s mate was some slen- 
der-necked chap, that might better have been at home, 
craning at the girls, as they come out of a church-door. I 




135 


should like to see Raoul Yvard, or any Frenchman who was 
ever bom, take off my head at a single clip ! ” 

“Well, Winchester, to be frank with you, I should not. 
Vou are a good first ; and that is an office in which a man 
usually wants all the head he has ; and I ’m not at all cer- 
tain you have any to spare. I wonder if one could not hire 
a felucca, or something larger than a boat, in this place, by 
means of which we could play a trick upon this fellow, and 
effect our purposes quite as well as by going up to him in 
our open boats, bull-dog fashion ? ’ ’ 

“No question of it at all, sir; Griffin says there area 
dozen feluccas in port here, all afraid to budge an inch, in 
consequence of this chap’s being in the offing. Now, one 
of these trying to slip along shore might just serve as a bait 
for him, and then he would be famously hooked.” 

“I think I have it, Winchester. You understand; we 
have not yet been seen to communicate with the town ; and 
luckily, our French colors have been flying all the morning. 
Our head, too, is in shore ; and we shall drift so far to the 
eastward, in a few minutes, as will shut in our hull, if not 
our upper sails, from the lugger, where she now lies. As 
soon as this is done, you shall be off, with forty picked men, 
for the shore. Kngage a felucca, and come out, stealing 
along the rocks, as close as you can, as if distrusting us. 
In due time, we will chase you in the boats ; and then you 
must make for the lugger for protection, as fast as you can, 
when, betwixt the two, I ’ll answer for it, you get this Mas- 
ter Yvard, by fair means or foul.” 

Winchester was delighted with the scheme ; and in less 
than five minutes, orders were issued for the men to be 
detailed and armed. Then a conference was held, as to all 
the minor arrangements ; when, the ship having become 
shut in from the lugger by the promontory, as expected, 
the boats departed. Half an hour later, or just as the 
Proserpine, after wearing, had got near the point where the 
lugger would be again open, the boats returned, and were 
run up. Presently the two vessels were again in sight of 
each other, everything on board of each remaining appar- 
ently in statu quo. Thus far, certainly, the stratagem had 


136 




been adroitly managed. To add to it, the batteries now 
fired ten or twelve guns at the frigate, taking very good care 
not to hit her ; which the Proserpine returned, under the 
French ensign, having used the still greater precaution of 
drawing the shot. All this was done by an arrangement 
between Winchester and Andrea Barrofaldi, and with the 
sole view to induce Raoul Yvard to fancy that he was still 
believed to be an Englishman by the worthy vice-governa- 
tore, while the ship in the ofiing was taken for an enemy. 

A light air from the southward, which lasted from eight to 
nine o’clock, allowed the frigate to get somewhat more of an 
ofiing the while, placing her seemingly beyond the reach 
of danger. 

During the prevalence of the light air mentioned, Raoul 
Yvard did not see fit to stir tack or sheet, as it is termed 
among seamen. Ee Feu-Follet remained so stationary, that, i 
had she been set by compass from any station on the shore, ; 
her direction would not have varied a degree the whole time. 

But this hour of comparative breeze sufiiced to enable Win- 
chester to get out of the harbor with Ea Divina Providenza, 
the felucca he had hired, and to round the promontory, 
under the seeming protection of the guns by which it was 
crowned; coming in view of the lugger precisely as the 
latter relieved her man at the helm for ten o’clock. There | 
were eight or nine men visible on the felucca’s deck, all 
dressed in the guise of Italians, with caps and striped shirts i 

of cotton. Thirty-five men were concealed in the hold. ' 

Thus far everything was favorable to the wishes of Cap- 
tain Cufie and his followers. The frigate was about a ^ 

league from the lugger, and half that distance from Ea j 

Divina Providenza ; the latter had got fairly to sea, and ' 

was slowly coming to a situation from which it might seem 
reasonable, and a matter of course, for the Proserpine to ’ 
send boats in chase ; while the manner in which she grad- 
ually drew nearer to the lugger was not such as to excite - 

distrust, or to appear in the least designed. The wind, too, ! 

had got to be so light as to favor the whole scheme. 

It is not to be supposed that Raoul Yvard and his fol- ' 
lowers were unobservant of what was passing. It is true, 


‘IKIltng==an^==M^nQ 


137 


that the latter wilfully protracted his departure, under the 
pretence that it was safer to have his enemy in sight during 
the day, knowing how easy it would be to elude him in the 
dark ; but, in reality, that he might prolong the pleasure of 
having Ghita on board ; and it is also true, that he had 
passed a delightful hour, that morning, in the cabin ; but, 
then, his understanding eye noted the minutest fact that 
occurred, and his orders were always ready to meet any 
emergency that might arise. Very different was the case 
with Ithuel. The Proserpine was his bane ; and, even while 
eating his breakfast, which he took on the heel of the bow- 
sprit, expressly with that intent, his eye was seldom a 
minute off the frigate, unless it was for the short period she 
was shut in by the land. It was impossible for any one in 
the lugger to say whether her character vras or was not 
known in Porto Ferrajo ; but the circumstance of the blue- 
lights burnt in the government-house, itself, and witnessed 
by Ithuel, rendered the latter, to say the least, probable, 
and induced more caution than might otherwise have been 
shown. Still, there was no reason to suspect the char- 
acter of the felucca ; and the confident manner in which 
she came down towards the lugger, though considerably 
in-shore of her, gave reason to believe that she, at least, 
was ignorant that Te Feu-Follet was an enemy. 

“That felucca is the craft which lay near the landing,” 
quietly obser\^ed Raoul, who had now come on the fore- 
castle with a view to converse with Ithuel ; ‘ ‘ her name is 
Ta Divina Providenza ; she is given to smuggling between 
Teghorn and Corsica, and is probably bound to the latter 
at this moment. It is a bold step, too, to stand directly for 
her port under such circumstances ! ” 

“Leghorn is a free port,” returned Ithuel ; “and smug- 
gling is not needed. ’ ’ 

“Ay, free as to friends, but not free to come and go, 
between enemies. No port is free, in that sense ; it being 
treason for a craft to communicate with the foe, unless she 
happen to be Le Feu-Follet,” observed Raoul, laughing; 
“we are privileged, mon brave ! ” 

“Corsica or Capraya, she’ll reach neither to-day, unless 




138 

she find more wind. I do not understand why the man has 
sailed, with no more air than will serve to blow out a 
pocket-handkerchief. ’ ’ 

“These little feluccas, like our little lugger, slip along 
even when there seems to be no wind at all. Then, he 
may be bound to Bastia ; in which case he is wise in getting 
an offing before the zephyr sets in for the afternoon. Tet 
him get a league or two out here, more to the northwest, 
and he can make a straight wake to Bastia, after his siesta 
is over.” 

“Ay, there go those greedy Englishmen a’ ter him!” 
said Ithuel ; “ it ’s as I expected ; let ’em see the chance of 
making a guinea, and they ’ll strive for it, though it be agin 
law or agin natur’. Now, what have they to do with a 
Neapolitan felucca, England being a sworn friend of 
Naples? ” 

Raoul made no reply to this, but stood watching the 
movement in silence. The reader will readily enough 
understand that Ithuel’ s remark was elicited by the appear- 
ance of the boats, which, five in number, at that instant 
pulled off from the frigate’s side, and proceeded steadily 
towards the felucca. 

It may be necessary now to mention the relative posi- 
tions of the parties, the hour, and the precise state of the 
weather, with a view to give the reader clear ideas of the 
events that succeeded. Ee Eeu-Eollet had not materially 
changed her place, since her jib-sheet was first hauled over. 
She still lay about a league, a little north-of-west, from the 
residence of Andrea Barrofaldi, and in plain view of it ; a 
deep bay being south of her, and abeam. No alterations 
had been made in her canvas or her helm ; most of the first 
being still in the brails, and the latter down. As the head 
of the frigate had been kept to the westward for the last 
hour, she had forged some distance in that direction, and 
was now quite as near the lugger as was the promontory, 
though near two miles off the land. Her courses were 
hauled up, on account of the lightness of the air ; but all 
her upper-sails stood, and were carefully watched and 
trimmed, in order to make the most of the cats’ -paws, or 




139 


rather of the breathings of the atmosphere, which occa- 
sionally caused the royals to swell outward. On the whole, 
she might be drawing nearer to the lugger at the rate of 
about a knot in an hour, ka Divina Providenza was just 
out of gun-shot from the frigate, and about a mile from the 
lugger, when the boats shoved off from the former, though 
quite near the land, just opening the bay so often named. 
The boats, of course, were pulling in a straight line from 
the vessel they had just left, towards that of which they 
were in pursuit. 

As to the time, the day had advanced as far as eleven, 
which is a portion of the twenty-four hours when the Med- 
iterranean, in the summer months, is apt to be as smooth 
as a mirror, and as calm as if it never knew a tempest. 
Throughout the morning, there had been some irregularity 
in the currents of air ; the southerly breeze, generally light, 
and frequently fickle, having been even more light and 
baffling than common. Still, as has been seen, there was 
sufflcient air to force a vessel through the water ; and, had 
Raoul been as diligent as the people of the two other craft, 
he might, at that moment, have been off the western end of 
the island, and far out of harm’s way. As it was, he had 
continued watching the result, but permitting all the other 
parties gradually to approach him. 

It must be allowed that the ruse of the felucca was well 
planned ; and it now seemed about to be admirably exe- 
cuted. Had it not been for Ithuel’s very positive knowl- 
edge of the ship, his entire certainty of her being his old 
prison, as he bitterly called her, it is not improbable that 
the lugger’s crew might have been the dupe of so much 
well-acted ingenuity ; and as it was, opinions were greatly 
divided, Raoul himself being more than half disposed to 
fancy that his American ally, for once, was wrong, and that 
the ship in sight was actually what she professed to be, a 
cruiser of the republic. 

Both Winchester, who was in Ta Divina Providenza, and 
Griffln, who commanded the boats, played their parts in 
perfection. They understood too well the character of the 
wily and practised foe with whom they had to deal, to 


140 




neglect the smallest of the details of their well-concerted 
plan. Instead of heading towards the lugger, as soon as 
the chase commenced, the felucca appeared disposed to enter 
the bay, and to find an anchorage under the protection of a 
small battery that had been planted, for this express pur- 
pose, near its head. But the distance was so great as obvi- 
ously to render such an experiment bootless; and, after 
looking in that direction a few minutes, the head of I^a 
Divina Providenza was laid off shore, and she made every 
possible effort to put herself under the cover of the lugger. 
All this was done in plain view of Raoul, whose glass was 
constantly at his eye, and who studied the smallest move- 
ment with jealous distrust. Winchester, fortunately for his 
purpose, was a dark-complexioned man, of moderate stature, 
and with bushy whiskers, such as a man-of-war’s man is apt 
to cultivate, on a long cruise ; and, in his red Phrygian 
cap, striped shirt, and white cotton trowsers, he looked the 
Italian as well as could have been desired. The men in 
sight, too, had been selected for their appearance, several of 
them being actually foreigners, born on the shores of the 
Mediterranean ; it being seldom, indeed, that the crew of an 
English, or an American vessel of war, does not afford a 
representation of half the maritime nations of the earth. 
These men exhibited a proper degree of confusion and alarm, 
too ; running to and fro, as soon as the chase became lively ; 
exerting themselves, but doing it without order and concert. 
At length, the wind failing almost entirely, they got out two 
sweeps, and began to pull lustily ; the real as well as the 
apparent desire being to get as near as possible to the lugger. 

“ Peste ! ” exclaimed Raoul ; “all this seems right— what 
if the frigate should be French, after all ? These men in the 
boats look like my brave compatriotes ! ’’ 

“They are regular John Bulls,’’ answered Ithuel, posi- 
tively, “ and the ship is the spiteful Proserpjne, ’ ’ for so the 
New Hampshire man always called his old prison. “ As for 
them French hats, and the way they have of rowing, they 
act it all for a take-in. Just let a six-pound-shot in among 
em, and see how they ’ll throw off their French airs, and 
take to their English schooling/* 




I4I 


not do that; for we might injure a friend. What 
are those fellows in the felucca about, now ? ’ ’ 

“Why, they ’ve got a small gun — yes, it ’s a twelve-pound 
carronade, under the tarpaulin, for’ard of their foremast, and 
they’re clearin’ it away for sarvice. We shall have some- 
thing doin’ ’fore the end of the week ! ” 

‘ ‘ Bien — it is as you say — and, voil^, they train the piece 
on the boats ! ’ ’ 

As this was said, the felucca was half concealed in smoke. 
Then came the discharge of the gun. The shot was seen 
skipping along the water, at a safe distance from the leading 
boat, certainly, and yet sufficiently near to make it pass for 
indifferent gunnery. This leading boat was the Proserpine’s 
launch, which carried a similar carronade on its grating, 
forward, and not half a minute was suffered to pass, before 
the fire was returned. So steady were the men and so nicely 
were all parts of this plot calculated, that the shot came 
whistling through the air in a direct line for the felucca, 
striking its main-yard about half-way between the mast and 
the peak of the sail, letting the former down by the run. 

“Human natur’ ! ’’ ejaculated Ithuel ; “ this is acting up 
to the contract, dollars and cents ! Captain Rule, they shoot 
better in sport than when they ’re in downright airnest.” 

‘ ‘ This looks like real work, ’ ’ answered Raoul. ‘ ‘A man 
does not often shoot away the main-yard of his friend on 
purpose.” 

As soon as the crews of the boats saw the end of the yard 
come down, they ceased rowing, and gave three hearty 
cheers, taking the signal from Griffin, who stood erect in 
the stem of the launch, to give it. 

“Bah!” cried Raoul, “these are English John Bulls, 
without a shadow of doubt. Who ever knew the men of 
the republic shout like so many Italian fantoccini, pulled by 
wires I Ah I Messieurs les Anglais, you have betrayed your 
secret by your infernal throats ; now look to hear us tell 
the remainder of the story.” 

Ithuel rubbed his hands with delight, perfectly satisfied 
that Raoul could no longer be deceived, though the fire 
between the felucca and the launch was kept up with spirit. 


142 




the shooting being such as might have done credit to a bon& 
fide conflict. All this time the sweeps of the felucca were 
plied, the boats advancing at least two feet to the chase’s one. 
lya Divina Providenza might now have been three hundred 
yards from the lugger ; and the launch, the nearest of the 
pursuers, about the same distance astern of the felucca. 
Ten minutes more would certainly bring the seeming com- 
batants alongside of each other. 

Raoul ordered the sweeps of Te Feu-Follet to be run out 
and manned. At the same time, her guns, twelve-pound 
carronades, were cast loose, and primed. Of these she had 
four of a side, while the two sixes on her forecastle were 
prepared for similar service. When everything was ready, 
the twelve sweeps dropped into the water, as by a common 
instinct, and a powerful efibrt started the lugger ahead. 
Her jib and jigger were both brailed at that instant. A sin- 
gle minute sufiiced to teach Winchester how hopeless pur- 
suit would be in the felucca, if not in the boats themselves, 
should the lugger endeavor to escape in this manner ; it be- 
ing quite practicable for her strong crew to force her through 
the water, by means of her sweeps alone, from three to three 
and a half knots in the hour. But flight did not appear to be 
her object ; for her head was laid toward Fa Divina Provi- 
denza as if, deceived by the artiflce of the English, she intended 
to prevent the capture of the felucca, and to cover a friend. 

Raoul, however, understood himself far better than this 
supposition would give reason to suppose. He swept the 
lugger up in a line with Ea Divina Providenza and the boats, 
in the flrst place, as the position in which she would be the 
least likely to suffer from the fire of the latter ; well know- 
ing that whatever shot were thrown, were purposely sent so 
high as to do no mischief ; and in the second place, that he 
might bring his enemies in a single range from his own guns. 
In the meanwhile, the felucca and the boats not only con- 
tinued to use their carronades, but they commenced on both 
sides a brisk fire of musketry ; the former being now distant 
only a hundred yards from Ee Feu-Follet, exceedingly hard 
pressed by her adversaries, so far as appearances were con- 
cerned. There being no wind at all, at this juncture, the 




143 


little there had been having been entirely killed by the con- 
cussion of the guns, the sea was getting to be fast covered 
with smoke ; the felucca, in particular, showing more than 
common of the wreathy canopy over her decks and about 
her spars ; for in truth, powder was burnt in considerable 
quantities, in different parts of the vessel, with this express 
object. Ithuel observed, too, that in the midst of this con- 
fusion and cloud, the crew of I^a Divina Providenza was 
increasing in numbers, instead of diminishing by the combat, 
four sweeps next being out, each manned by three men, 
while near twenty more were shortly visible, running to and 
fro, and shouting to each other in a language that was in- 
tended to be Italian, but which sounded much more, in his 
practised ears, like bastard English. The felucca was not 
fifty yards distant, when this clamor became the loudest; 
and the crisis was near. The cheers of the boats on the other 
side of her proclaimed the quick approach of Griffin and his 
party ; the bows of Ea Divina Providenza having been laid, 
in a species of blind haste, directly in a line which would 
carry her athwarthawse of Ee Feu-Follet. 

“ Mes shouted Raoul, '' soy ez calmes — fire ! ” 

The whole of the five guns, loaded heavily with canister, 
were discharged into the smoke of Ea Divina Providenza. 
The shrieks that succeeded, sufficiently proclaimed with what 
effect. A pause of solemn, wondering silence followed, on 
the part of the English ; and then arose a manly shout, as 
if, prepared for every contingency, they were resolved to 
brave the worst. The boats were next seen coming round 
the bows and stem of the felucca, dashing earnestly at their 
real enemy, while their two carronades returned the fire, 
this time loaded and aimed with deadly intent. But it was 
too late for success. As Griffin in the launch came out of 
Ea Divina Providenza’ s smoke, he saw the lugger’s sails all 
opened, and filled with the dying effort of the southerly air. 
So light, however, was Ee Feu-Follet, that a duck could 
hardly have sailed away more readily from the fowler, than 
this little craft shot ahead, clearing the smoke, and leav- 
ing her pursuers an additional hundred yards behind her. 
As the air seemed likely to stand long enough to place his 


144 


mina^anb:-MtnG 


party in extreme jeopardy, under the fire of the French, 
Winchester promptly ordered the boats to relinquish the 
pursuit, and to rally round the felucca. This command 
was reluctantly obeyed, when a moment was given to both 
sides for deliberation. 

Te Feu-Follet had sustained no injury worth mentioning ; 
but the English had not less than a dozen men slain or 
hurt. Among the latter was Winchester himself; and as 
he saw that any success which followed would fall princi- 
pally to the share of his subordinate, his wound greatly 
indisposed him to pursue any further a struggle that was 
nearly hopeless as it was. Not so with Raoul Yvard, how- 
ever. Perceiving that the frigate had taken the breeze as 
well as himself, and that she was stealing along in the direc- 
tion of the combatants, he determined to take an ample 
revenge for the audacity of the attempt, and then proceed 
on his voyage. 

The lugger accordingly tacked, and passed to windward 
of the felucca, delivering a close and brisk fire as she ap- 
proached. At first this fire was returned, but the opposi- 
tion soon ceased ; and when Ee Feu-Follet ranged up past 
her adversary, a few yards to windward, it was seen that 
the English had deserted her to a man, carrying off their 
wounded. The boats were pulling through the smoke, to- 
wards the bay, taking a direction opposite to that in which 
the lugger’s head was laid. It would have been easy for 
the French to wear, and probably to have overtaken the 
fugitives, sinking or capturing them to a man ; but there 
was a touch of high chivalry in the character of Raoul 
Yvard, and he declared that as the artifice had been ingen- 
iously planned, and daringly attempted, he would follow 
up his success no further. Perhaps the appearance of Ghita 
on deck, imploring him to be merciful, had its influence ; it 
is certain that not another shot did he allow to be fired at 
the enemy. Instead of pursuing her advantage in this man- 
ner, the lugger took in her after-sails, wore short round on 
her heel, came to the wind to leeward of the felucca, shiv- 
ered all forward, set her jigger again, and luffed up so near 
what may be called the prize, that the two vessels came 




us 


together so gently as not to break an egg, as it is termed. 
A single rope secured the felucca to the lugger, and Raoul, 
Ithuel, and a few more, stepped on board the former. 

The decks of Ta Divina Providenza were reeking with 
blood ; and grape and canister were sticking in handfuls, in 
different parts of the vessel. Three dead bodies were found 
in her hold, but nothing having life was met with on board. 
There was a tar-bucket filled at hand, and this was placed 
beneath the hatch, covered with all the combustible materials 
that could be laid hold of, and set on fire. So active were the 
flames, at that dry season, that Raoul regretted he had not 
taken the precaution to awaken them after he had removed 
his own vessel ; but the southerly air continuing, he was 
enabled to get to a safe distance before they actually as- 
cended the felucca’s rigging, and seized upon her sails. 

Ten minutes were thus lost, and they had sufficed to carry 
the boats out of gunshot, in shore, and to bring the frigate 
very nearly down within gunshot from the southeast. But, 
hauling aft all his sheets, Raoul soon took the lugger clear 
of her flaming prize ; and then she stood towards the west 
end of Elba, going, as usual, in so light an air, three feet to 
the frigate’s two. The hour, however, was not favorable to 
the continuance of the breeze, and in ten more minutes it 
would have puzzled the keenest senses to have detected the 
slightest current of air over the surface of the sea. Such 
flickerings of the lamp, before it burnt entirely out, were 
common, and Raoul felt certain that there would be no more 
wind that day, until they got the zephyr. Accordingly, he 
directed all the sails to be hauled up, an awning to be spread 
over the quarter-deck, and permission was given to the peo- 
ple to attend to their own afiairs. The frigate, too, seemed 
to be aware that it was the moment for the siesta of vessels 
as well as of men ; for she clewed up her royals and top- 
gallant-sails, brailed her jib and spanker, hauled up her 
courses, and lay on the water as motionless as if sticking on 
a shoal. The two vessels were barely long gunshot apart, 
and, under ordinary circumstances, the larger might have 
seen fit to attack the smaller in boats ; but the lesson just 
given was a sufficient pledge to the French against the 


zo 


146 


M^na^an^:sXKIl^nG 


renewal of any such attempt, and they scarcely paid their 
neighbor’s prowess the compliment to watch him. Half an 
hour later, when Winchester got back to the ship, limping 
with a hurt in his leg, and with his^ people exhausted and 
mortified, it was found that the undertaking had cost the 
lives of seven good men, besides the temporary suspension 
of the service of fifteen more. 

Captain Cuffe was aware that his enterprise had failed, 
as soon as he perceived the lugger under her canvas, play- 
ing around the felucca, and the boats held in perfect com- 
mand. But, when he discovered the latter pulling for the 
shore, he was certain that they must have suffered, and he 
was prepared to learn a serious loss, though not one that 
bore so large a proportion to the whole numbers of the 
party sent on the expedition. Winchester he considerately 
declined questioning while his wound was being dressed ; 
but Griffin was summoned to his cabin, as soon as the boats 
were hoisted in and stowed. 

“Well, Mr. Griffin, a d d pretty scrape is this into 

which you have led me, among you, with your wish to go 
boating about after luggers and Raoul Yvards ! What will 
the admiral say, when he comes to hear of twenty-two men 
being laid on the shelf, and a felucca to be paid for, as a 
morning’s amusement? ” 

“Really, Captain Cuffe, we did our best; but a man 
might as well have attempted to put out Vesuvius with 
snow-balls as to stand the canister of that infernal lugger ! 
I don’t think there was a square yard in the felucca that 
was not peppered. The men never behaved better; and 
down to the moment when we last cheered, I was as sure 
of he Feu-Follet as I ever was of my own promotion. ’ ’ 

“Ay, they needn’t call her To Few-Folly any longer, 
the Great-Folly being a better name. What the devil did 
you cheer for, at all, sir? did you ever know a Frenchman 
cheer in your life ? That very cheering was the cause of 
your being found out before you had time to close. You 
should have shouted Vive la R^publique ! as all their craft do 
when we engage them. A regular English hurrah would 
split a Frenchman’s throat.” 




147 


** I believe we did make a mistake there, sir ; but I never 
was in an action in which we did not cheer ; and when it 
got to be warm — or to seem warm — I forgot myself a lit- 
tle. But we should have had her, sir, for all that, had it 
not been for one thing.” 

“And what was that, pray? You know, Griffin, I must 
have something plausible to tell the admiral ; it will never 
do to have it published in the gazette that we were thrashed 
by our own hallooing.” 

‘ ‘ I was about to say. Captain Cuffe, that, had not the lug- 
ger fired her first broadside just as she did, and had she 
given us time to get out of the range of her shot, we should 
have come in upon her before she could have loaded again, 
and carried her, in spite of the breeze that so much favored 
her. Our having three men hurt in the launch made some 
difference, too, and set as many oars catching crabs, at a 
most critical instant. Everything depends on chance in 
these matters, you know, sir, and that was our bad luck.” 

“Umph! It will never do to tell Nelson that. ‘Every- 
thing was going well, my lord, until three of the launch’s 
people went to work catching crabs with their oars, which 
threw the boat astern.’ No, no, that will never do for a 
gazette. Eet me see, Griffin ; after all, the lugger made off* 
firom you ; you would have had her had she not made sail 
and stood to the southward and westward on a bowline.” 

“Yes, sir, she certainly did that. Had she not made sail, 
as you say, nothing could have prevented our getting 
alongside.” 

“Well, then, she ran. Wind sprung up, enemy made 
sail; every attempt to get alongside unsuccessful. Brave 
fellows, cheering and doing their utmost. Not so bad an 

account after all ; but how about that d d felucca ? You 

see, she is burned to the water’s edge, and will go down in 
a few minutes.” 

“Very true. Captain Cuffe, but not a Frenchman entered 
her while we were there — ” 

“Yes, I now see how it was; threw all hands into the 
boats, in chase, the felucca being too unwieldy, and every 
effort to get alongside unsuccessful. He’s a devil of a fel- 


148 




low, that Nelson and Bronte ; and I had rather hear the 
thunder of ten thousand tempests, than get one of his tem- 
pestuous letters. Well, I think I understand the affair now, 
and shall speak of you all as you deserve. ’Twas a gallant 
thing, though it failed. You deserved success, whatever 
may have caused you to lose it. ’ ’ 

In this Captain Cufife was nearer right than in anything 
else he uttered on the occasion. 




CHAPTER X. 

“ O ! ’t is a thought sublime, that man can force 
A path upon the waste, can find a way 
Where all is trackless, and compel the winds, 

Those freest agents of Almighty power, 

To lend their untamed wings, and bear him on 
To distant climes.” 

Ware. 

T he situation of Ghita Caraccioli, on board the lug- 
ger, was of the most unpleasant nature, during 
the fierce struggle we have related. Fortunately 
for her, this struggle was very short, Raoul hav- 
ing kept her in profound ignorance of the approach of any 
danger until the instant Ee Feu-Follet commenced her fire. 
It is true she heard the guns between the felucca and the 
boats, but this she had been told was an affair in which the 
privateer had no participation ; and the reports sounding 
distant to one in the cabin, she had been easily deceived. 
While the actual conflict was going on, she was on her 
knees, at the side of her uncle ; and the moment it ceased, 
she appeared on deck, and interposed to save the fugitives in 
the manner related. 

Now, however, the scene was entirely changed. The lug- 
ger had escaped all damage worthy of notice ; her decks had 
not been stained with blood ; and her success had been as 
complete as could be desired. In addition to these advan- 
tages, the result removed all apprehension from the only 
source of danger that Raoul thought could exist as between 
his own vessel and the frigate, of a boat-attack in a calm ; 
for men who had just been so roughly handled in an enter- 
prise so well concealed, would not be likely to renew the 

149 





150 

attempt while they still smarted under the influence of the 
late repulse. Affairs of this sort exact all the discipline and 
resolution that a well-regulated service can afford ; and are 
not to be thought of under the temporary demoralization of 
defeat. All in the lugger, therefore, considered this colli- 
sion with the Proserpine at an end, for the moment at least. 

Ghita had dined, for the day had now turned some time, 
and the girl had come on deck to escape the confinement of 
a very small cabin, leaving her uncle to enjoy his customary 
siesta. She was seated under the awning of the quarter- 
deck, using her needle, as was her wont, at that hour, on 
the heights of Argentaro. Raoul had placed himself on a 
gun-slide, near her, and Ithuel was busy within a few feet 
of them, dissecting a spy-glass, with a view to cleaning its 
lenses. 

“I suppose the most excellent Andrea Barrofaldi will 
sing a Te Deum for his escape from our fangs,” suddenly 
exclaimed Raoul, laughing. “ Pardie ! he is a great histo- 
rian, and every way fit to write an account of this glorious 
victory, which Monsieur P Anglais, 1^ bas, is about to send 
to his government ! ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ And you, Raoul, have you no occasion for a Ife Deum 
after your escape?” demanded Ghita, gently, and yet with 
emphasis. “Is there no God for you to thank, as well as 
for the vice-governatore ? ” 

“ Peste ! Our French deity is little thought of just now, 
Ghita. Republics, as you know, have no great faith in 
religion— is it not so, mon brave Americain? Tell us, 
Ktooell ; have you any religion in America? ” 

As Ithuel had often heard Raoul’s opinions on this sub- 
ject, and knew the prevailing state of France in this par- 
ticular, he neither felt nor expressed any surprise at the 
question. Still, the idea ran cotmter to all his own notions 
and prejudices, he having been early taught to respect reli- 
gion, even when he was most serving the devil. In a word, 
Ithuel was one of those descendants of Puritanism who, 
“Godward,” as it is termed, was quite unexceptionable, so 
far as his theory extended, but who, “ manward,” was “ as 
the Scribes and Pharisees.” Nevertheless, as he expressed 




151 

it himself, “he always stood up for religion;” a fact that 
his English companions had commented on in jokes ; main- 
taining that he even “ stood up ” when the rest of the ship’s 
company were on their knees. 

“ I ’m a little afraid, Monsieur Rule,” he answered, “ that 
in France you have entered the rope of republicanism at the 
wrong end. In Ameriky, we even put religion before dol- 
lars ; and if that isn’t convincing, I ’ll give it up. Now, I 
do wish you could see a Sunday once in the Granite State, 
Signorina Ghita, that you might get some notion what our 
western religion raally is. ” 

“All real religion, all real devotion to God, is, or ought 
to be, the same. Signor Ithuello, whether in the East or in 
the West. A Christian is a Christian, let him live or die 
where he may.” 

“ That ’s not exactly platform, I fancy. Why, Eord bless 
ye, young lady, your religion, now, is no more like mine 
than my religion is like that of the Archbishop of Canter- 
bury’s, or Monsieur Rule’s, here ! ” 

“ Ea mienne ! ” exclaimed Raoul, “ I pretend to none, mon 
brave ; there can be no likeness to nothing.” 

Ghita’ s glance was kind, rather than reproachful ; but it 
was profoundly sorrowful. 

“In what can our religion differ,” she asked, “if we are 
both Christians? Americans or Italians, it is all the same. ” 

‘ ‘ That comes of knowing nothing about Ameriky, ’ ’ said 
Ithuel, filled with the conceit of his own opinion of himself, 
and of the part of the world from which he came. “ In the 
first place, you have a pope, and cardinals, and bishops, and 
all such things in your religion, while we have none.” 

“Certainly, there is the Holy Father, and there are car- 
dinals ; but they are not my religion, ’’answered Ghita, look- 
ing surprised. “Bishops, it is true, are appointed of God, 
and form part of his Church ; and the bishop of Rome is the 
head of the Church on earth, but nothing more ! ” 

“ Nothing more ! Don’t you worship images, and take off 
and put on garments at your prayers, and kneel down in a 
make-believe, profane way ; and don’t you turn everything 
into vain ceremonies ? ” 


152 




Had Ithuel been engaged, body and soul, in maintaining 
one of the propositions of the Oxford Tracts’ controversy, 
he could not have uttered these words with greater zeal, or 
with a more self-righteous emotion. His mind was stored 
with the most vulgar accusations of an exceedingly vulgar 
set of sectarian distinctions ; and he fancied it a high proof 
of Protestant perfection, to hold all the discarded usages in 
abhorrence. On the other hand, Ghita listened with sur- 
prise ; for, to her, the estimation in which the rites of the 
Roman Church are held by the great bulk of Protestants, 
was a profound secret. The idea of worshipping an image 
never crossed her innocent mind ; and although she often 
knelt before her own little ivory crucifix, she had never sup- 
posed any could be so ignorant as to confound the mere ma- 
terial representation of the sacrifice it was meant to portray, 
with the divine expiation itself. 

“ It is decent to use proper vestments at the alter, ’ ’ she 
replied ; ‘ ‘ and its servants ought not to be clad like other 
men. We know it is the heart, the soul, that must be 
touched, to find favor with God ; but this does not make 
the outward semblance of respect that we show even to each 
other, the less necessary. As to worshipping images, that 
would be idolatry ; and as bad as the poor heathens them- 
selves.” 

Ithuel looked mystified ; for he never doubted in the least 
that the worshipping of images was a material part of Cath- 
olic devotion; and, as for the Pope and the cardinals, he 
deemed them all as indispensable to the creed of this Church, 
as he fancied it important in his own that the priests should 
not wear gowns, and that the edifices in which they wor- 
shipped should have square-topped windows. Absurd as all 
this may seem to-day, and wicked as it will probably appear 
a century hence, it formed, and forms, no small part of sec- 
tarian belief ; and entered into the animosities and jealousies 
of those who seem to think it necessary to quarrel for the 
love of God. Could we but look back at our own changes 
of opinion, it would render us less confident of the justice 
of our sentiments ; and, most of all, one would think that 
the American who has lived long enough to witness the 




153 


somersets that have been thrown in the practices and creeds 
of most of the more modern sects of his own country, within 
the last quarter of a century, would come to have some- 
thing like a suitable respect for the more stable and vener- 
able divisions of the Christian world. 

“Proper vestments!” repeated Ithuel, with contempt; 
“what vestments are wanting in the eyes of the Supreme 
Being? No; if I must have religion — and I know it ’s 
necessary and hullsom— let it be a pure, naked religion, 
that will stand to reason. Is not that your way of thinking, 
Monsieur Rule ? ’ ’ 

“Ma foi, oui. Reason before all things, Ghita ; and, 
most of all, reason in religion.” 

“ Ah, Raoul ! this it is which misleads and betrays you,” 
returned the girl, earnestly. “ Faith, and a meek depend- 
ence, is what makes a proper state of feeling ; and yet you 
demand a reason of Him who created the Universe, and 
breathed into you the breath of life ! ’ ’ 

“ Are we not reasoning creatures, Ghita ? ’ ’ returned Raoul, 
gently, and yet with a sincerity and truth, for the circum- 
stances, that rendered even his skepticism piquant and 
respectable ; ‘ ‘ and is it unreasonable to expect us to act 
up to our natures ? Can I worship a God I do not under- 
stand? ” 

“ Couldst thou worship one thou didst? He would cease 
to be a deity, and would become one of ourselves, were his 
nature and attributes brought down to the level of our com- 
prehensions. Did one of thy followers come on this quarter- 
deck, and insist on hearing all thine own motives for the 
orders given in this little felucca, how readily wouldst thou 
drive him back as mutinous and insolent ; and yet thou 
wouldst question the God of the Universe, and pry into his 
mysteries I ” 

Raoul was mute, while Ithuel stared. It was so seldom 
that Ghita lost her exceeding gentleness of manner, that the 
flush of her cheek, the severe earnestness of her eyes, the 
impassioned modulations of her voice, and the emphasis 
with which she spoke on this occasion, produced a sort of 
awe, that prevented the discourse from proceeding further, 


154 




The girl, herself, was so much excited, that, after sitting 
for a minute with her hands before her face, the tears were 
seen forcing their way through her fingers. She then arose, 
and darted into the cabin. Raoul was too observant of the 
rules of propriety to think of following ; but he sat moody 
and lost in thought, until Ithuel drew his attention to him- 
self. 

“ Gals will be gals,” said that refined and philosophical 
observer of the human family, ‘ ‘ and nothing touches their 
natur’s sooner than a little religious excitement. I dare 
say, if it wasn’t for images, and cardinals, and bishops, and 
such creatur’s the Italians (Ithuel always pronounced this 
word .^^talians) would make a very good sort of Chris- 
tians. ’ ’ 

But Raoul was in no humor to converse ; and as the hour 
had now arrived when the zephyr was to be expected, he 
rose, ordered the awning to be taken in, and prepared to 
make himself master of the state of things around him. 
There lay the frigate, taking her siesta, like all near ; her 
three topsails standing, but every other sail that was loose, 
hanging in festoons, waiting for the breeze. Notwithstand- 
ing her careless appearance, so closely had she been tended, 
for the last few hours, however, and so sedulously had even 
the smallest breath of air been improved, that Raoul started 
with surprise, when he found how much nearer she was 
than when he had last looked at her. The whole trick was 
apparent to him at a glance ; and he was compelled to 
acknowledge his own remissness, when he perceived that he 
lay within the reach of the shot of his powerful foe ; though 
still so distant as to render her aim a little uncertain, more 
especially should a sea get up. The felucca had burnt to 
the water’s edge ; but, owing to the smoothness of the water, 
her wreck still fioated, and was slowly setting into the bay, 
there being a slight current in that direction, where she now 
lay. The town was basking in the afternoon’s sun, though 
hid from view, and the whole island of Elba had the 
appearance of being asleep. 

“ What a siesta ! ” said Raoul to Ithuel, as both stood on 
the heel of the bowsprit, looking curiously at the scene : 




ISS 


“sea, land, mountains, burgeois, and mariners all dozing. 
Bien ; there is life yonder at the west, and we must get 
farther from votre Proserpine. Call the hands. Monsieur 
lyieutenant. I^et us get our sweeps, and put the head of 
Le Feu-Follet the other way. Peste ! the lugger is so 
sharp, and has such a trick of going exactly where she looks, 
that I am afraid she has been crawling up towards her 
enemy, as the child creeps into the fire that burns its 
fingers.” 

All hands were soon in motion on board Fe Feu-Follet, 
the sweeps were on the point of being handled, when the 
jigger fluttered, and the first puff of the expected western 
breeze swept along the surface of the waters. To the sea- 
men, it was like inhaling oxygen gas. Every appearance 
of drowsiness deserted the people of both vessels, and every 
one was instantly busy in making sail. Raoul had a proof 
into what dangerous proximity to the frigate he had got, by 
the sound of the calls on board her ; and the stillness of 
the sea was yet so great, that the creaking of her fore-yard 
was actually audible to him, as the English rounded in their 
braces briskly, while laying their fore-topsail aback. 

At that moment a second respiration of the atmosphere 
gave birth to the breeze. Raoul whistled for the wind, and 
the lugger moved ahead, gliding towards the frigate. But, 
in half a minute, she had gathered sufiicient way, her helm 
was put down, and she came round as easily and as grace- 
fully as the bird turns on his wing. Not so with the heavier 
frigate. She had hauled in her starboard head-braces, and 
had to get the fore-topsail aback, and to pay well off with 
her head to leeward, in order to swing her yards and fill her 
sails, while Ee Feu-Follet was slipping through the water, 
going seemingly into the wind’s eye. By this single evolu- 
tion, the lugger gained more than a cable’s length on her 
enemy, and five minutes more would have put her^^yo^^ 
all immediate danger. But Captain Cuffe knew this as well 
as his competitor, and had made his preparations accord- 
ingly. Keeping his head-yards aback, he knocked his ship 
round off, until her broadside bore on the lugger, when he 
let fly every gun of his starboard batteries, the utmost care 


having been taken to make the shot tell. Twenty-two j 
heavy round-shot coming in at once upon a little craft like I 
Te Feu-Follet, was a fearful visitation; and, the “boldest I 
held their breath for a time,” as the iron whirlwind whistled j 
past them. Fortunately, the lugger was not hulled ; but a | 

grave amount of mischief was done aloft. The jigger-mast | 

was cut in two, and flew upwards like a pipe-stem. A seri- 
ous wound was given to the mainmast below the hounds, and 
the yard itself was shivered in the slings. No less than 
six shot plunged through both lugs, leaving holes in the 
canvas that made it resemble a beggar’s shirt, and the jib- 
stay was cut in two, half-way between the mast-head and the ' 
end of the bowsprit. No one was hurt ; and yet, for a i 
moment, every one looked as if destruction had suddenly * 
lighted on the lugger. Then it was that Raoul came out in ! 
his true colors. He knew he could not spare a stitch of can- | 

vas just at that moment, but that on the next ten minutes i 

depended everything. Nothing was taken in, therefore, to 
secure spars and sails, but all was left to stand, trusting to 
the lightness of the breeze, which usually commenced very 
moderately. Hands were immediately set to work, to get 
up a new stay ; a new main-yard and sail were got along, 
and everything was prepared for hoisting both, as soon as it 
could be ascertained that the mast would bear them. Nearly 
similar preparations were made forward, as the shortest 
way of getting rid of the torn foresail ; for that, it was ! 

the intention to unbend and bend, the yard being sound. i 

Tuckily, Captain Cuffe determined to lose no more time 
with his guns, but swinging his head-yards, the frigate came : 
sweeping up to the wind, and in three minutes everything i 

was trimmed for the utmost. All this time, Te Feu-Follet ' 

had not stood still. Her canvas fluttered, but it held on. ; 
and even the spars kept their places, though so much injured. j 
In a word, the wind was not yet strong enough to tear the , 
one, or to carry away the other. It was an advantage, too, 
that these casualties, particularly the loss of her jigger, ! 
rendered Te Feu-Follet less weatherly than she would 
otherwise have been, since by keeping the frigate directly ! 
in her wake, she was less exposed to the chase-guns than 




157 


she would have been a little on either bow. Of this truth 
Raoul was soon persuaded, the Proserpine beginning to 
work both her bow-guns, as soon as she came to the wind, 
though neither exactly bore ; the shot of one ranging a little 
to windward, and the other about as much on the other 
side. By these shot, too, the young Frenchman soon had 
the satisfaction of seeing that, notwithstanding her injuries, 
the lugger was drawing ahead, a fact of which the Eng- 
lish became so sensible themselves, that they soon ceased 
firing. 

So far, things went better than Raoul had reason, at first, 
to hope, though he well knew that the crisis was yet to 
come. The westerly wind often blew fresh at that period 
of the day, and should it now increase he would require all 
his canvas to get clear of a ship with the known qualities 
of the vessel in chase. How much longer his mast or his 
main-yard would stand he did not know, but as he was fast 
gaining, he determined to make hay while the sun shone, 
and get far enough ahead, if possible, before the breeze grew 
fresh, to enable him to shift his sails and fish his spars, with- 
out being again brought within the reach of visitors as rude 
as those who had so lately come hurtling into his thin 
hamper. The proper precautions were not neglected, in the 
meantime. Men were sent aloft to do what they could, 
under the circumstances, with the two spars ; and the strain 
was a little relieved by keeping the lugger as much away, as 
might be done without enabling the frigate to set her stud- 
ding-sails. 

There is always something so exciting in a chase, that 
seamen never fail to wish for more wind ; forgetful that the 
power which increases their own speed, may also increase 
the speed of the other party, and that too in an undue pro- 
portion. It would have been more favorable to Ee Feu- 
Follet to have had less wind than even now blew, since her 
relative rate of sailing was greater in light than in strong 
breezes. Raoul knew, from Ithuel’s statements, that the 
Proserpine was an exceedingly fast ship, more especially 
when it blew fresh : and yet it did not appear to him that 
his lugger got along with sufiicient speed, though his enemy 




158 

would be certain to follow at a rate of sailing in a just pro- 
portion to his own, did there come more wind. 

The wish of the young privateersman, however, was soon 
gratified. The wind freshened materially, and by the time 
the two vessels opened the Canal of Corsica, as the passage 
between that island and Elba is called, the frigate was 
obliged to take in her royals, and two or three of those light 
and lofty staysails, which it was then the custom for ships 
to carry. At first, Raoul had thought he might fetch into 
Bastia, which lies due-west of the southern end of Elba ; 
but though the wind drew a little down through the canal, 
it soon blew too fresh to allow any formation of the land 
materially to alter its current. The zephyr, as the after- 
noon’s summer breeze of southern Italy, in particular, was 
termed by the ancients, is seldom a due-west wind, there 
generally being a little northing in it, as seamen say ; and, 
as one gets farther up the coast, this same wind ordinarily 
comes round the head of Corsica, blowing from nearly west- 
northwest. This would have enabled the lugger to lay her 
course for a deep bay on which lies the town of Biguglia, 
could she have been jammed up on a wind, as might usually 
have been done ; but, a few minutes of experiment con- 
vinced Raoul that he must be more tender on his wounded 
spars, and keep off for the mouth of the Golo. This was a 
river of some size into which it was possible for a vessel of 
a light draught to enter ; and, as there stood a small battery 
near the anchorage, he determined to seek shelter in that ' 
haven, in order to repair his damages. His calculations 
were made accordingly, and, taking the snow-clad peaks in 
the neighborhood of Corte as his landmarks, he ordered the 
lugger to be steered in the proper direction. 

On board the Proserpine, there was scarcely less interest 
felt in the result than on board Ee Eeu-Follet. If the 
people of the frigate had nothing to apprehend, they had 
something to revenge ; in addition to the anticipated credit 
of having captured the boldest privateer that sailed out of ! 
France. For a short time, as the ship came up with the 
west end of Elba, it was a serious question whether she ! 
would be able to weather it, the lugger having gone past. 


Mtn0s*ant)=*Min^ 


150 


within a cable’s length of the cliffs, on the very verge of the 
breakers, and much closer in than the frigate would dare to 
follow. But the last had taken the breeze farther off the 
land than the first, and might possibly fetch past the prom- 
ontory on the tack she was then steering. To have gone 
about, would have been to have abandoned the chase, as it 
would have carried the ship off due-north, while Te Feu- 
Follet was gliding down to the southward and westward at 
the rate of seven knots. The distance across the canal is 
only about thirty miles, and there would not have been time 
to recover the lost ground. 

This uncertainty made a most feverish moment on board 
the Proserpine, as she came up fast towards the headland. 
All depended on getting by without tacking. The appear- 
ances were favorable for deep water, close in ; but there is 
always the danger of rocks to be dreaded, near mountainous 
coasts. The promontory, too, was comparatively low ; and 
this was rather an indication that it ought not to be ap- 
proached too closely. Winchester was in his berth, just 
beginning to feel the smart of his wound ; but Grifiin was at 
the captain’s elbow, both he and the third lieutenant enter- 
ing keenly into all their commander’s wishes and anxieties. 

“There she goes, into the very breakers!’’ exclaimed 
Cufife, as they watched Le Feu-Follet in her attempt to pass 
the promontory ; “Monsieur Yvard must be determined to 
cast away his craft rather than be taken. It will be touch 
and go with him.’’ 

“I think not, Captain Cufife,’’ answered Griffin; “the 
coast is bold hereabouts, and even the Proserpine would 
find sufficient water there, where the lugger now is. I hope 
we shall not be obliged to tack, sir.’’ 

“Ay, this is very well for an irresponsible; but, when 
it got to a court, and punishment, I fear that all the last 
would fall on my shoulders, .should his majesty’s ship happen 
to lay her bones along-shore here. No, no, Griffin ; we 
must go a clear cable’s length to windward of that, or I go 
about, though Raoul Yvard were never taken.” 

“There, he fetches up, by George ! ” cried Yelverton, the. 
youngest lieutenant, and, for a moment, it was in truth be- 


i6o 




lieved in the frigate that I^e Feu-Follet, as a breaker actually 
curled directly under her lee, was aground. But this notion 
lasted a moment only, the little lugger continuing her course | 
as swiftly as before ; and, a minute or two later, keeping a i 
little away, to ease her spars, having been jammed up as close | 
as possible, previously, in order to weather the extreme end | 
of what was thought to be the dangerous point. The frigate | 
was fully two miles astern ; and, instead of losing anything ; 
of her vantage-ground, she was kept so near the wind as to • 
be occasionally touching. This was the more safe, inas- 
much as the sea was perfectly smooth, and the vessel made 
no leeway. Still the frigate looked, as it is termed, barely ( 
up to the point it was deemed indispensable to weather ; j 
and as ships rarely “do” better than they “look,” it became J 
a question of serious doubt on board the Proserpine, as she | 
came up with the headland, whether she could clear it. • ! 

“I am afraid, Captain Cuffe, we shall never clear it with | 
a good enough berth, sir, ’ ’ observed the fidgeting Griffin ; 

“it seems to me the ship sets unaccountably to leeward, | 
to-day ! ” j 

“She never behaved better, Grifl&n. I am really in hopes I 
there is a slight current off-shore, here; if anything, we i 
actually open the highlands of Corsica by this promon- j 
tory. You see that the wreck of La Divina Providenza 
is sweeping round the bay, and is coming out to windward 
again.” 

''That may serve us, indeed ! ” All ready in the chains, 
sir ! Shall we make a cast of the lead ? ” 

Cuffe assented, and the lead was hove. At this moment 
the ship was going eight knots, and the man reported no 
bottom, with fifteen fathoms of line out. This was well ; 
and two or three subsequent casts confirmed it. Orders 
were now given to drag every bowline, swig-off on every 
brace, and flatten-in all the sheets. Hven the halyards 
were touched, in order that the sails might stand like 
boards. The trying moment was near ; five minutes must 
decide the matter. 

“Let her shake a little, Mr. Yelverton, and eat into the 
wind,” said Cuffe, addressing the officer of the watch; 


Min9=anti=mina 


i6i 


“we must do all we can, here; for, when abreast of the 
breakers, everything must be a rap-full, to keep the ship 
under quick command. There — meet her with the helm, 
and give her a good full. ’ ’ 

This experiment was repeated twice, and each time the 
frigate gained her length to windward, though she neces- 
sarily lost more than three times that distance in her velo- 
city. At length the trial came, and a profound silence, one 
in which nervousness and anxiety were blended with hope, 
reigned in the vessel. The eyes of all turned from the sails 
to the breakers ; and from the breakers to the sails ; and 
from both to the wake of the ship. 

At such moments the voice of the lead’s-man prevails over 
all other sounds. His warning cry is listened to with 
breathless attention when the songs of a siren would be 
unheard. Cast after cast was made, as the ship drove on, 
and the answer to Cuffe’s questions was uniformly, “No 
bottom, sir, with fifteen fathoms out;” but just at this 
instant arose the regular song from the weather main-chains, 
of “By the mark seven ! ” This came so suddenly on the 
captain’s ear, that he sprang upon the taffrail, where he 
could command a full view of all he wanted to see ; and 
then he called out, in a stentorian voice : — 

“ Heave again, sir ! — be brisk, my lad ! — be brisk ! ” 

“ Be-e-e-ther-r-r-dee-e-e-eep six ! ” followed almost as soon 
as the captain’s voice had ceased. 

“ Ready-about ! ” shouted Cuffe. “See all clear, gentle- 
men. Move lively, men ; move lively ! ” 

‘ ‘ And-a-a-eh half-ef-four ! ’ ’ 

“Stand by! What the devil are you at, sir, on that 
forecastle ? Are you ready, forward ? ” 

“All ready, sir I ” 

“ Down with your helm — ^hard down at once I ” 

“ Be-e-e-ther-r-r-dee-e-e-p nine I ” 

“ Meet her 1 — up with your helm. Haul down your sheets, 
forward — brail the spanker — let go all the bowlines aft. So 
well, there, well. She flew round like a top ; but, by Jove, 
we ’ve caught her, gentlemen. Drag your bowlines again. 
What ’s the news from the chains? ” 


IX 


162 




“ No bottom, sir, with fifteen fathoms out ; and as good a 
cast, too, sir, as we’ve had to-day.” 

“3o — you’re rap-full — don’t fall off— very well dyce” 
{Anglic^, thus); “keep her as you are. Well, by the 
I,ord, Griffin, that was a shave ; half-four was getting to be 
squally, in a quarter of the world where a rock makes 
nothing of pouting its lips fifteen or twenty feet at a time at 
a mariner. We are past it all, however, and here is the 
land, trending away to the southward, like a man in a con- 
sumption, fairly under our lee. A dozen Raoul Yvards 
wouldn’t lead me into such a d d scrape again ! ” 

“The danger that is over is no longer a danger at all, 
sir,” answered Griffin, laughing. “Don’t you think. Cap- 
tain Cuffe, we might ease her about half a point ? that 
would be just her play ; and the lugger keeps off a little, I 
rather suspect, to ease her mainmast. I ’m certain I saw 
chips fly from it when we dosed her with those two-and- 
twenty pills. ’ ’ 

“ Perhaps you’re right, Griffin. Base her with the helm 
a little, Mr. Yelverton. If Master Yvard stands on his 
present course an hour longer, Biguglia would be too far to 
windward for him ; and as for Bastia, that has been out of 
the question from the first. There is a river called Golo, 
into which he might run ; and that, I rather think, is his 
aim. Four hours, however, will let us into his secret.” 

And four intensely interesting hours were those which 
succeeded. The wind was a cap-full ; a good, fresh, west- 
erly breeze, which seemed to have started out of the oven- 
like heat of a week of intensely hot weather that had 
preceded it, and to have collected the force of two or three 
zephyrs into one. It was not a gale at all, nor did it induce 
either party to think of reefing ; no trifle would have done 
that, under the circumstances ; but it caused the Proserpine 
to furl her fore- and mizzen-top-gallant-sails, and put Raoul 
in better humor with the loss of his jigger. When fairly 
round the headland, and, at a moment when he fancied the 
frigate would be compelled to tack, the latter had seized an 
opportunity to get in his foresail, to unbend it, and to bend 
and set a new one ; an operation that took just four minutes 




163 


by the watch. He would have tried the same experiment 
with the other lug, but the mast was scarce worth the risk, 
and he thought the holes might act as reefs, and thus dimin- 
ish the strain. In these four hours, owing to the disadvan- 
tage under which I^e Feu-Follet labored, there was not a 
difference of half a knot in the distance run by the two 
vessels, though each passed over more than thirty miles of 
water. During this time they had been drawing rapidly 
nearer to the coast of Corsica, the mountains of which, 
ragged and crowned with nearly eternal snows, had been glit- 
tering in the afternoon sun, before them, though they lay 
many a long league inland. But the formation of the coast 
itself had now become plain, and Raoul, an hour before the 
sun disappeared, noted his landmarks, by which to make 
for the river he intended to enter. The eastern coast of 
Corsica is as deficient in bays and harbors as its western is 
aflluent with them ; and this Golo, for which the lugger was 
shaping her com-se, would never have been thought of, as a 
place of shelter, under ordinary circumstances. But Raoul 
had once anchored in its mouth, and he deemed it the very 
spot in which to elude his enemy. It had shoals off its 
embouchure ; and these, he rightly enough fancied, woiild 
induce Captain Cuffe to be wary. 

As the evening approached, the wind began to decrease 
m force, and then the people of the lugger lost all their ap- 
prehensions. The spars had all stood, and Raoul no longer 
hesitated about trusting his wounded mainmast with a new 
yard and sail. Both were got up, and the repairs were 
immediately commenced. The superiority of the lugger, in 
sailing, was now so great as to put it out of all question 
that she was not to be overtaken in the chase ; and Raoul, 
at one time, actually thought of turning up along the land, 
and going into Bastia, where he might even provide himself 
with a new mainmast at need. But this idea, on reflection, 
he abandoned as too hazardous ; and he continued on in the 
direction of the mouth of the Golo. 

Throughout the day the Proserpine had shown no colors, 
except for the short period when her boats were engaged, 
and while she herself was firing at the lugger. The same 


164 


mirxQ^m^^minQ 


was the fact with I^e Feu-Follet, though Raoul had run up 
the tricolor as he opened on the felucca, and he kept it flying 
as long as there was any appearance of hostilities. As the 
two vessels drew in near to the land, several coasters were 
seen beating up against the westerly wind, or running down 
before it, all of which, however, seemed so much to distrust 
the appearance of the lugger, as to avoid her as far as was 
possible. This was a matter of indifference to our hero, who 
knew that they were all probably countrymen ; or, at least, 
smugglers, who would scarcely reward him for the trouble, 
had he time to bring them to, and capture them. Corsica 
was then, again, in the hands of the French, the temporary 
and imperfect possession of the English having terminated 
three or four years earlier ; and Raoul felt certain of a wel- 
come anywhere in the island, and of protection wherever it 
could be offered. Such was the state of things when, just 
as the lugger was preparing to enter among the shoals, the 
Proserpine unexpectedly tacked, and seemed to bestow all 
her attention on the coasters, of which three or four were so 
near that two fell into her hands almost without an effort 
to escape. 

It appeared to Raoul, and those with him in his little 
craft, that the English seized these insignificant vessels 
solely with a wish for vengeance, since it was not usual for 
ships of the force of the Proserpine to turn aside to molest 
the poor fishermen and coasters. A few execrations fol- 
lowed, quite as a matter of course, but the intricacy of the 
channel and the necessity of having all his eyes about him, 
soon drove every other thought from the mind of the dash- 
ing privateersman, but such as were connected with the care 
and safety of his own vessel. 

Just as the sun set Ee Feu-Follet anchored. She had 
chosen a berth suffciently within the shallow water to be 
safe from the guns of the frigate, though scarcely within the 
river. The latter the depth of the stream hardly permitted, 
though there was all the shelter that the season and weather 
required. The Proserpine manifested no intention to give 
up her pursuit ; for she, too, came off the outlet, and brought 
up with one of her bowers about two miles to seaward of 




165 


the lugger. She seemed to have changed her mind as to 
the coasters, having let both proceed after a short detention, 
though, it falling calm, neither was enabled to get any ma- 
terial distance from her until the land-breeze should rise. 
In these positions the belligerents prepared to pass the 
night, each party taking the customary precautions as to his 
ground tackle, and each clearing up the decks and going 
through the common routine of duty as regularly as if he lay 
in a friendly port. 




CHAPTER XI. 

“ The human mind, that lofty thing, 

The palace and the throne. 

Where reason sits, a sceptred king. 

And breathes his judgment tone ; 

O ! who with silent step shall trace 
The borders of that haunted place, 

Nor in his weakness own. 

That mystery and marvel bind 
That lofty thing— the human mind ! ” 

Anonymous. 

I T is unnecessary to dwell on the glories of the Mediter- 
ranean. They are familiar to every traveller, and 
books have, again and again, laid them before the 
imaginations of readers of all countries and ages. 
Still, there are lights and shades peculiar to every picture, 
and this of ours has some of its own that merit a passing 
notice. A sunset, in midsummer, can add to the graces of 
almost any scene. Such was the hour when Raoul an- 
chored ; and Ghita, who had come on deck, now that the 
chase was over, and the danger was thought to be past, 
fancied she had never seen her own Italy, or the blue 
Mediterranean, more lovely. 

The shadows of the mountains were cast far upon the sea, 
long ere the sun had actually gone down, throwing the 
witchery of eventide over the whole of the eastern coast, 
some time before it came to grace its western. Corsica and 
Sardinia resemble vast fragments of the Alps, which have 
fallen into the sea by some accident of nature, where they 
stand in sight of their native beds, resembling, as it might 
be, outposts of those great walls of Europe. Their moun- 

i66 




167 


tains have the same formations, the same white peaks, for 
no small portion of the year at least, and their sides the 
same mysterious and riven aspect. In addition, however, 
to their other charms, they have one that is wanting in 
most of Switzerland, though traces of it are to be found in 
Savoy and on the southern side of the Alps ; they have that 
strange admixture of the soft and the severe, of the sublime 
and beautiful, that so peculiarly characterize the witchery 
of Italian nature. Such was now the aspect of all visible 
from the deck of I^e Feu-Follet. The sea, with its dark- 
blue tint, was losing every trace of the western wind, and 
was becoming glassy and tranquil ; the mountains on the 
other side were solemn and grand, just showing their 
ragged outlines along a sky glowing with “the pomp that 
shuts the day ’ ’ ; while the nearer valleys and narrow plains 
were mysterious, yet soft, under the deep shadows they cast. 
Pianosa lay nearly opposite, distant some twenty miles, ris- 
ing out of the water like a beacon ; Elba was visible to the 
northeast, a gloomy, confused pile of mountain at that hour ; 
and Ghita once or twice thought she could trace on the 
coast of the main, the dim outline of her own hill, Monte 
Argentaro ; though the distance, some sixty or seventy 
miles, rendered this improbable. Outside, too, lay the frig- 
ate, riding on the glassy surface of the sea, her sails furled, 
her yards squared, everything about her cared for and in its 
place, until she formed a faultless picture of nautical sym- 
metry and naval propriety. There are all sorts of men in 
a marine, as well as in civil life ; these taking things as 
they come, content to perform their duties in the most quiet 
manner, while others again have some such liking for their 
vessels as the dandy has for his own person, and are never 
happy unless embellishing them. The truth, in this, as in 
most other matters, lies in a medium ; the officer who 
thinks too much of the appearance of his vessel, seldom 
having mind enough to bestow due attention on the great 
objects for which she was constructed, and is sailed ; while 
on the other hand, he who is altogether indifferent to these 
appearances is usually thinking of things foreign to his 
duty and his profession ; if, indeed, he thinks at all. Cuffe 


i68 




was near the just medium, inclining a little too much, per- 
haps, to the naval dandy. The Proserpine, thanks to the 
builders of Toulon, was thought to be the handsomest 
model then afloat in the Mediterranean, and like an estab- 
lished beauty, all who belonged to her were fond of deco- 
rating her, and of showing her fine proportions to advantage. 
As she now lay, at single anchor, just out of gunshot from 
his own berth, Raoul could not avoid gazing at her with 
envy, and a bitter feeling passed through his mind, when he 
recalled the chances of fortune and of birth, which deprived 
him of the hope of ever rising to the command of such a 
frigate, but which doomed him, seemingly, to the fate of a 
privateersman for life. 

Nature had intended Raoul Yvard for a much higher 
destiny than that which apparently awaited his career. He 
had come into active life with none of the advantages that 
accompany the accidents of birth, and at a moment in the 
history of his great nation when its morals and its religious 
sentiments had become unsettled by the violent reaction 
which was throwing off the abuses of centuries. They 
who imagine, however, that France, as a whole, was guilty 
of the gross excesses that disfigured her struggles for lib- 
erty, know little of the great mass of moral feeling that 
endured through all the abominations of the times, and 
mistake the crimes of a few desperate leaders, and the ex- 
aggerations of misguided impulses, for a radical and univer- 
sal depravity. The France of the Reign of Terror, even, 
has little more to answer for than the compliance which 
makes bodies of men the instruments of the enthusiastic, 
the designing, and the active ; our own country often tol- 
erating error, that differs only in the degree, under the 
same blind submission to combinations and impulses ; this 
very degree, too, depending more on the accidents of his- 
tory and natural causes, than any agencies which are to be 
imputed to the one party, as a fault, or to the other, as a 
merit. It was with Raoul, as it had been with his country ; 
each was the creature of circumstances ; and if the man 
had some of the faults, he had also most of the merits of 
his nation and his age. The looseness on the subject of 


TRIlin(5=an&=Ming 


169 


religion, which was his principal defect in the eyes of Ghita, 
but which could scarcely fail to be a material one, with a 
girl educated and disposed as was the case with our heroine, 
was the error of the day, and with Raoul it was at least 
sincere ; a circumstance that rendered him, with one so 
truly pious as the gentle being he loved, the subject of a 
holy interest, which, in itself almost rivalled the natural 
tenderness of her sex, in behalf of the object of her affections. 

While the short engagement of the boats lasted, and dur- 
ing the few minutes he was under the fire of the frigate, Raoul 
had been himself; the excitement of actual war always 
nerving him to deeds worthy of his command, and the high 
name he had acquired ; but, throughout the remainder of 
the day, he had felt little disposed to strife. The chase, 
once assured that his spars were likely to stand, gave him 
little concern ; and now that he was at anchor within the 
shallow water, he felt much as the traveller who has found 
a comfortable inn, after the fatigue of a hard day’s ride. 
When Ithuel suggested the possibility of a night attack 
in boats, he laughingly reminded the American that ‘ ‘ The 
burnt child dreads the fire, ’ ’ and gave himself no great con- 
cern in the matter. Still no proper precaution was neg- 
lected. Raoul was in the habit of exacting much of his 
men, in moments of necessity ; but at all other times he 
was as indulgent as a kind father, among obedient and 
respectful children. This quality, and the never varying con- 
stancy and coolness that he displayed in danger, was the 
secret of his great infiuence with them ; every seaman under 
his orders feeling certain that no severe duty was required 
at his hands, without a corresponding necessity for it. 

On the present occasion, when the people of he Feu-Tollet 
had supped, they were indulged in their customary dance ; 
and the romantic songs of Provence were heard on the 
forecastle. A light-hearted gayety prevailed, that wanted 
only the presence of woman, to make the scene resemble the 
evening amusement of some hamlet on the coast. Nor was 
the sex absent in the sentiment of the hour, or wholly so in 
person. The songs were full of chivalrous gallantry, and 
Ghita listened, equally touched and amused. She sat on 


170 


TIlIl^n^ssan^s«TKIl^na 


the taffrail, with her uncle standing at her side, while Raoul 
paced the quarter-deck, stopping, in his turn, to utter some 
thought or wish, to ears that were always attentive. At 
length the song and the dance ended, and all but the few 
who were ordered to remain on watch, descended to their 
hammocks. The change was as sudden as it was striking. 
The solemn, breathing stillness of a star-lit night succeeded 
to the light laugh, melodious song, and spirited merriment 
of a set of men, whose constitutional gayety seemed to be 
restrained by a species of native refinement that is unknown 
to the mariners of other regions, and who, unnurtured as 
they might be deemed in some respects, seldom or never 
offended against the proprieties, as is so common with the 
mariners of the boasted Anglo-Saxon race. By this time 
the cool air from the mountains began to descend, and float- 
ing over the heated sea, it formed a light land-breeze, that 
blew in exactly the contrary direction to that which, about 
the same hour, came off from the adjacent continent. There 
was no moon; but the night could not be called dark. 
Myriads of stars gleamed out from the fathomless firmament, 
filling the atmosphere with a light that served to render 
objects sufficiently distinct ; while it left them clad in a 
semi-obscurity that suited the witchery of the scene and 
the hour. Raoul felt the influence of all these circumstances 
in an unusual degree. It disposed him to more sobriety 
of thought than always attended his leisure moments, and 
he took a seat on the tafifail, near Ghita, while her uncle went 
below, to his knees and his prayers. 

Every footfall in the lugger had now ceased. Ithuel was 
posted on a knight-head, where he sat watching his old 
enemy, the Proserpine; the proximity of that ship not 
allowing him to sleep. Two experienced seamen, who alone 
formed the regular anchor-watch, as it is termed, were sta- 
tioned apart, in order to prevent conversation ; one on the 
starboard cat-head, and the other in the main rigging ; both 
keeping vigilant ward over the tranquil sea, and the differ- 
ent objects that floated on its placid bosom. In that retired 
spot, these objects were necessarily few, embracing the 
frigate, the lugger, and three coasters ; the latter of which 


‘lKIltnG®an^ssXKIl^no lyi 


had all been boarded before the night set in, by the Proser- 
pine, and after short detentions dismissed. One of these 
coasters lay about half-way between the two hostile vessels 
at anchor, having come-to, after making some fruitless efforts 
to get to the northward, by means of the expiring west wind. 
Although the light land-breeze would now have sufi&ced to 
carry her a knot or two through the water, she preferred 
maintaining her position, and giving her people a good 
night’s rest, to getting under way. The situation of this 
felucca, and the circumstance that she had been boarded by 
the frigate, rendered her an object of some distrust with 
Raoul, through the early part of the evening, and he had 
ordered a vigilant eye to be kept on her ; but nothing had 
been discovered to confirm these suspicions. The movements 
of her people, the manner in which she brought up, the 
quiet that prevailed on board her, and even the lubberly 
disposition of her spars and rigging, went to satisfy Raoul 
that she had no man-of-war’s men on board her. Still, as 
she lay less than a mile outside of the lugger, though now 
dead to leeward all that distance, she was to be watched ; 
and one of the seamen, he in the rigging, rarely had his eyes 
off her a minute at a time. The second coaster was a little 
to the southward of the frigate, under her canvas, hauling 
in for the land ; doubtless with a view to get as much as 
possible of the breeze from the mountains ; and standing 
slowly to the south. She had been set by compass, an hour be- 
fore, and all that time had altered her bearings but half a point, 
though not a league off ; a proof how light she had the 
wind. The third coaster, a small felucca, too, was to the 
northward ; but, ever since the land-breeze, if breeze it 
could be called, had come, she had been busy turning 
slowly up to windward ; and seemed disposed either to 
cross the shoals closer in than the spot where the lugger 
lay, or to enter the Golo. Her shadowy outline was 
visible, though drawn against the land, moving slowly 
athwart the lugger’s hawse, perhaps half-a-mile in-shore 
of her. As there was a current setting out of the 
river, and all the vessels rode with their heads to the 
island, Ithuel occasionally turned his head to watch her 


172 




progress ; which was so slow, however, as to produce very 
little change. 

After looking around him several minutes in silence, Raoul 
turned his face upwards and gazed at the stars. 

“You probably do not know, Ghita,” he said, “ the use | 
those stars may be, and are, to us mariners. By their aid, ! 
we are enabled to tell where we are, in the midst of the ' 
broadest oceans, — to know the points of the compass, and to 
feel at home even when farthest removed from it. The sea- 
man must go far south of the equator, at least, ere he can 
reach a spot where he does not see the same stars that he 
beheld from the door of his father’s house.’’ 

‘ ‘ That is a new thought to me, ’ ’ answered Ghita, quickly, 
her tender nature at once struck with the feeling and poetry 
of such an idea ; “ that is a new thought to me, Raoul ; and ! 
I wonder you never mentioned it before. It is a great thing I 
to be able to carry home and familiar objects with you, when I 
so distant from those you love. ’ ’ 

“ Did you never hear that lovers have chosen an hour and 
a star, by gazing at which they might commune together, 
though separated by oceans and countries ? ’ ’ 

“That is a question you might put to yourself, Raoul; 
all I ever heard of lovers and love having come from your 
own lips.’’ 

“Well, then, I tell it you; and hope that we shall not 
part, again, without selecting our star and our hour — if, in- | 

deed, we ever part more. Though I have forgotten to tell ‘ 

you this, Ghita, it is because you are never absent from my 
thoughts; no star is necessary to recall Monte Argentaro 
and the Towers. ’ ’ . 

If we should say Ghita was not pleased with this, it would ' 
be to raise her above an amiable and natural weakness. 
Raoul’s protestations never fell dead on her heart ; and few i 

things were sweeter, to her ear, than his words, as they de- I 

dared his devotedness and passion. The frankness with 
which he admitted his delinquencies, and most especially the ! 
want of that very religious sentiment which was of so much 
value in the eyes of his mistress, gave an additional weight to ! 

his language, when he affirmed his love. Notwithstanding ' 


TKIlino=*ant)^Mino 


173 


Ghita blushed, as she now listened, she did not smile ; she 
rather appeared sad. For near a minute she made no reply ; 
and when she did answer, it was in a low voice, like one who 
felt and thought intensely. 

“Those stars may well have a higher ofiGice,” she said. 

‘ ‘ Took at them, Raoul ; count them we cannot, for they 
seem to start out of the depths of heaven, one after another, 
as the eye rests upon the space, until they mock our efforts 
at calculation. We see they are there in thousands and may 
well believe they are in myriads. Now, thou hast been 
taught, else couldst thou never be a navigator, that those 
stars are worlds, like our own, or suns, with worlds sailing 
around them ; how is it possible to see and know this, with- 
out believing in a God, and feeling the insignificance of our 
being ? ’ ’ 

“ I do not deny that there is a power to govern all this, 
Ghita, but I maintain that it is a principle ; not a being, in 
our shape and form ; and that it is the reason of things, 
rather than a deity.” 

“ Who has said that God is a being in our shape and form, 
Raoul? None know that, none can know it; none say it, 
who reverence and worship Him as they ought ! ” 

“Do not your priests say that man has been created in 
his image ? and is not this creating him in his form and 
likeness? ” 

“ Nay, not so, dear Raoul, but in the image of his spirit ; 
that man hath a soul which partakes, though in a small 
degree, of the imperishable essence of God ; and thus far 
doth he exist in his image. More than this, none have pre- 
sumed to say. But what a being, to be the master of all 
those bright worlds ! ” 

“ Ghita, thou know’st my way of thinking on these mat- 
ters ; and thou also know’st that I would not wound thy 
gentle spirit by a single word that could gneve thee. 

“Nay, Raoul, it is not thy way of thinking, but thy fash- 
ion of talking, that makes the difference between us. No 
one who thinks, can ever doubt the existence of a being 
superior to all of earth, and of the universe ; and who is 
Creator and Master of all.” 


174 




“ Of a principle, if thou wilt, Ghita ; but of a being, I ask 
for the proof. That a mighty principle exists, to set all I 

these planets in motion, to create all these stars, and to plant | 

all these suns in space, I never doubted ; it would be to ques- i 

tion a fact which stands, day and night, before my eyes ; I 

but to suppose a being capable of producing all these things, ; 

is to believe in beings I never saw. ’ ’ ' 

“And why not as well suppose that it is a being that does 
all this, Raoul, as suppose it what you call a principle ? “ 

“Because I see principles beyond my understanding at ; 
work all around me : in yonder heavy frigate, groaning 
under her load of artillery, which floats on this thin water ; ' 

in the trees of the land that lies so near us ; in the animals, : 

which are born, and die ; the fishes, the birds, and the human | 

beings. But I see no being, know no being, that is able to i 

do all this.” | 

“ That is because thou know’st not God ! He is the ere- I 
ator of the principles of which thou speak’ st, and is greater 
than thy principles themselves.” ! 

“ It is easy to say this, Ghita, but hard to prove. I take | 
the acorn, and put it in the ground ; in due time it comes ; 

up a plant ; in the course of years, it becomes a tree. Now, | 

all this depends on a certain mysterious principle, which is i 
unknown to me, but which I am sure exists, for I can cause 1 
it myself to produce its fruits, by merely opening the earth 
and laying the seed in its bosom. Nay, I can do more ; so j 

well do I understand this principle, to a certain extent at i 

least, that, by choosing the season and the soil, I can hasten 
or retard the growth of the plant, and, in a manner, fashion ; 
the tree.” , 

“True, Raoul, to a certain extent thou canst; and it is ' 
precisely because thou hast been created after the image of 
God. The little resemblance thou enjoyest to that mighty j 
being enables thee to do this much more than the beasts of j 
the field : wert thou his equal, thou couldst create that prin- 
ciple of which thou speakest, and which, in thy blindness, | 
thou mistakest for its master.” 

This was said with more feeling than Ghita had ever j 
before manifested, in their frequent discourses on this sub- ' 




175 


ject, and with a solemnity of tone that startled her listener. 
Ghita had no philosophy, in the common acceptation of the 
term, while Raoul fancied he had much under the limita- 
tions of a deficient education ; and yet the strong religious 
sentiment of the girl so quickened her faculties, that he had 
often been made to wonder why she had seemingly the best 
of the argument, on a subject in which he flattered himself 
with being so strong. 

“I rather think, Ghita, we scarcely understand each 
other,” answered Raoul. “I pretend not to see anymore 
than is permitted to man ; or, rather, more than his powers 
can comprehend; but this proves nothing, as the elephant 
understands more than the horse, and the horse more than 
the fish. There is a principle which pervades everything, 
which we call Nature ; and this it is which has produced 
these whirling worlds, and all the mysteries of creation. 
One of its laws is, that nothing it produces shall compre- 
hend its secrets. ’ ’ 

“You have only to fancy your principle a spirit, a being 
with mind, Raoul, to have the Christian’s God. Why not 
believe in Him as easily as you believe in your unknown 
principle, as you call it? You know that you exist — that 
you can build a lugger — can reason on the sun and stars, so 
as to find your way across the widest ocean, by means of 
your mind ; and why not suppose that some superior being 
exists, who can do even more than this? Your principles 
can be thwarted, even by yourself ; the seed can be deprived 
of its power to grow — the tree destroyed ; and, if principles 
can thus be destroyed, some accident may one day destroy 
creation, by destroying its principle. I fear to speak to you 
of revelation, Raoul, for I know you mock it ! ” 

“Not when it comes from thy lips, dearest. I may not 
believe, but I never mock at what thou utterest and rever- 
encest.” 

“ I could thank thee for this, Raoul, but I feel it would 
be taking to myself a homage that ought to be paid else- 
where. But, here is my guitar, and I am sorry to say that 
the hymn to the Virgin has not been sung on board this lug- 
ger to-night ; thou canst not think how sweet is a hymn 


176 




sung upon the waters. I heard the crew that is anchored 
towards the frigate, singing that hymn, while thy men were 
at their light Provencal songs in praise of woman’s beauty, 
instead of joining in praise of their Creator.” 

“Thou mean’ St to sing thy hymn, Ghita, else the guitar 
would not have been mentioned ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Raoul, I do. I have ever found thy soul the softest, 
after holy music. Who knows, but the mercy of God may 
one day touch it, through the notes of this ver>^ hymn ! ’ ’ 
Ghita paused a moment, and then her light fingers passed 
over the strings of her guitar, in a solemn symphony ; after 
which came the sweet strains of ‘ ‘ Ave Maria, ” in a voice 
and melody that might, in sooth, have touched a heart of 
stone. Ghita, a Neapolitan by birth, had all her country’s ^ 
love for music ; and she had caught some of the science 1 
that seems to pervade nations in that part of the world. I 
Nature had endowed her with one of the most touching | 
voices of her sex ; one less powerful, than mellow and 
sweet ; and she never used it in a religious office without its ! 
becoming tremulous and eloquent with feeling. While she 
was now singing this well-known hymn, a hol}^ hope per- | 
vaded her moral system, that, in some miraculous manner, j 
she might become the agent of turning Raoul to the love j 
and worship of God ; and the feeling communicated itself to j 
her execution. Never before had she sung so well ; as a 
proof of which, Ithuel left his knight-head, and came aft, i 
to listen, while the two French mariners on watch tempo- ‘ 
rarily forgot their duty, in entranced attention. 

“If anything could make me a believer, Ghita,” mur- ; 
mured Raoul, when the last strain had died on the lips of | 
his beloved, “ it would be to listen to thy melody! What i 
now. Monsieur Ktooell 1 are you, too, a lover of holy 
music ? ” I 

“This is rare singing. Captain Rule : but we have differ- | 
ent business on hand. If you will step to the other end of 
the lugger, you can take a look at the craft that has been j 
crawling along, in-shore of us, for the last three hours ; ‘ 
there is something about her that is unnat’ral ; she seems to | 
be dropping down nearer to us, while she has no motion ' 




177 


through the water. The last circumstance I hold to be un- 
nat’ral with a vessel that has all sail set, and in this breeze.” 

Raoul pressed the hand of Ghita, and whispered her to 
go below, as he was fearful the air of the night might injure 
her. He then went forward, where he could command as 
good a view of the felucca in-shore as the obscurity of the 
hour permitted ; and he felt a little uneasiness, when he 
found how near she had got to the lugger. When he last 
noted her position, this vessel was quite half-a-mile distant, 
and appeared to be crossing the bows of Le Feu-Follet, with 
sufficient wind to have carried her a mile ahead in the inter- 
val ; yet could he not perceive that she had advanced as far, 
in that direction, as she had drifted down upon the lugger 
the while. 

“ Have you been examining her long? ” he demanded of 
the New Hampshire man. 

“Ever since she has seemed to stand still ; which is now 
some twenty minutes. She is dull, I suppose, for she has 
been several hours getting along a league ; and there is now 
air enough for such a craft to go three knots to the hour. 
Her coming down upon us is easily accounted for, there 
being a considerable current out of this river, as you may 
see by the ripple at our own cut-water ; but I find nothing 
to keep her from going ahead at the same time. I set her 
by the light you see, here, in the wake of the nearest 
mountain, at least a quarter of an hour since, and she has 
not advanced five times her own length since. ’ ’ 

“’Tis nothing but a Corsican coaster, after all, Ktooell : 
I hardly think the English would risk our canister again, 
for the pleasure of being beaten off in another attempt to 
board ! ’ ’ 

“They ’re a spiteful set, aboard the frigate ; and the Eord 
only knows ! See, here is a good heavy night air, and that 
felucca is not a cable’s length from us ; set her by the jib- 
stay, and judge for yourself how slowly she goes ahead ! 
That it is, which non-plushes me I 

Raoul did as the other desired, and, after a short trial, he 
found that the coaster had no perceptible motion ahead, 
while it was certain she was drifting down with the current 


13 


lyS 




directly athwart the lugger’s hawse. This satisfied him 
that she must have drags astern ; a circumstance that at 
once denoted a hostile intention. The enemy was probably 
on board the felucca, in force ; and it was incumbent on him 
to make immediate preparations for defence. 

Still, Raoul was reluctant to disturb his people. Tike all 
firm and cool men, he was averse to the parade of a false 
alarm ; and it seemed so improbable that the lesson of the 
morning was so soon forgotten, that he could hardly persuade 
himself to believe his senses. Then the men had been very 
hard at work throughout the day ; and most of them were 
sleeping the sleep of the weary. On the other hand, every 
minute brought the coaster nearer, and increased the danger, 
should the enemy be really in possession of her. Under all 
the circumstances, he determined, first, to hail; knowing 
that his crew could be got up in a minute, and that they 
slept with arms at their sides, under an apprehension that a 
boat attack might possibly be attempted in the course of the 
night. 

‘ ‘ Felucca, ahoy ! ’ ’ called out the captain of Te Feu-Fol- 
let, the other craft being too near to render any great effort 
of the voice necessary ; “what felucca is that ? and why have 
you so great a drift? ’’ 

“ Ta Bella Corsienne ! ’’ was the answer, in a patois, half 
French, half Italian, as Raoul expected, if all were right. 
“ We are bound into Ta Padulella ; and wish to keep in with 
the land to hold the breeze the longer. We are no great 
sailer at the best, and have a drift, because we are just now 
in the strength of the current.’’ 

“At this rate, you will come athwart my hawse. You 
know I am armed, and cannot suffer that ! ’ ’ 

“Ah, Signore, we are friends of the republic, and would 
not harm you if we could. We hope you will not injure poor 
mariners like us. We will keep away, if you please, and pass 
under your stern.’’ 

This proposition was made so suddenly and so unexpec- 
tedly, that Raoul had no time to object ; and had he been dis- 
posed to do so, the execution was too prompt to allow him 
the means. The felucca fell broad off, and came down 




179 


almost in a direct line for the lugger’s bows, before the wind 
and current ; moving fast enough now to satisfy all Ithuel’s 
scruples. 

“ Call all hands to repel boarders ! ” cried Raoul, spring- 
ing aft to the capstan, and seizing his own arms ; ‘ ‘ come up 
lively, mes enfans ! here is treachery ! ” 

These words were hardly uttered before Raoul was back 
on the heel of the bowsprit, and the most active of his men 
-^some five or six at most — began to show themselves on 
deck. In that brief space, the felucca had got within eighty 
yards, when, to the surprise of all in the lugger, she luffed 
into the wind again, and drifted down, until it was apparent 
that she was foul of the lugger’s cable, her stem swinging 
round directly on the latter’s starboard bow. At that in- 
stant, or just as the two vessels came in actual contact, and 
Raoul’s men were thronging around him to meet the ex- 
pected attack, the sounds of oars, pulled for life or death, 
were heard, and flames burst upwards from the open hatch 
of the coaster. Then a boat was dimly seen gliding away 
in a line with the hull, by the glowing light. 

“Un brfilot ! — un brfilot ! — a fire-ship!” exclaimed 
twenty voices together, the horror that mingled in the cries 
proclaiming the extent of a danger which is, perhaps, the 
most terrific that seamen can encounter. 

But the voice of Raoul Yvard was not among them. The 
moment his eye caught the first glimpse of the flames, he 
disappeared from the bowsprit. He might have been absent 
about twenty seconds. Then he was seen on the taffrail of 
the felucca, with a spare shank-painter, which had been 
lying on the forecastle, on his shoulder. 

“Antoine! — Francois! — Grdgoire ! ” he called out, in 
a voice of thunder, “follow me! the rest, clear away the 
cable, and bend a hawser to the better end I ’ ’ 

The people of Le Feu-Follet were trained to order and 
implicit obedience. By this time, too, the lieutenants were 
among them ; and the men set about doing as they had been 
directed. Raoul himself passed into the felucca, followed 
by the three men he had selected by name. The adventur- 
ers had no difiiculty, as yet, in escaping the flames, though. 


i8o 




by this time, they were pouring upwards from the hatch in 
a torrent. As Raoul suspected, his cable had been grap- 
pled ; and, seizing the rope, he tightened it to a severe 
strain, securing the in-board part. Then he passed down to 
the cable himself, directing his companions to hand him the 
rope-end of the shank-painter, which he fastened to the cable 
by a jamming hitch. This took half-a-minute ; in half-a- 
minute more he was on the felucca’s forecastle again. Here 
the chain was easily passed through a hawse-hole ; and a 
knot tied, with a marlinespike passed through its centre. To 
pass the fire, on the return, was now a serious matter ; but 
it was done without injury, Raoul driving his companions 
before him. No sooner did his foot reach the bows of Te 
Feu-Follet, again, than he shouted, — 

“ Veer away ! — pay out cable, men, if you would save our 
beautiful lugger from destruction ! ” 

Nor was there a moment to spare. The lugger took the 
cable that was given her, fast enough, under the pressure of 
the current, and helped by the breeze ; but at first, the fire- 
vessel, already a sheet of flame, her decks having been sat- 
urated with tar, seemed disposed to accompany her. To 
the delight of all in the lugger, however, the stern of the 
felucca was presently seen to separate from their own bows ; 
and a sheer having been given to Te Feu-Follet, by means 
of the helm, in a few seconds even her bowsprit and jib had 
cleared the danger. The felucca rode stationary, while the 
lugger dropped astern, fathom after fathom, until she lay 
more than a hundred yards distant from the fiery mass. 
As a matter of course, while the cable was paid out, the 
portion to which the lanyard, or rope part of the shank- 
painter was fastened, dropped into the water, while the 
felucca rode by the chain. 

These events occupied less than five minutes ; and all had 
been done with a steadiness and promptitude that seemed 
more like instinct than reason. Raoul’s voice was not 
heard, except in the few orders mentioned ; and when, by 
the glaring light which illuminated all in the lugger and the 
adjacent water to some distance, nearly to the brightness of 
noon-day, he saw Ghita gazing at the spectacle in awed ad- 




i8i 


miration and terror, he went to her, and spoke as if the whole 
were merely a brilliant spectacle, devised for their amusement. 

‘ ‘ Our girandola is second only to that of St. Peter, ’ ’ he 
said, smiling. “ ’Twas a narrow escape, love ; but thanks 
to thy God, if thou wilt it shall be so, we have received no 
harm.” 

‘ ‘ And you have been the agent of his goodness, Raoul ; 
I have witnessed all from this spot. The call to the men 
brought me on deck ; and, O ! how I trembled, as I saw you 
on the flaming mass ! ’ ’ 

“ It has been cunningly planned, on the part of Messieurs 
les Anglais ; but it has signally failed. That coaster has a 
cargo of tar and naval stores on board ; and, capturing her 
this evening, they had thought to extinguish our lantern 
by the brighter and fiercer flame of their own. But, Re 
Feu-Follet will shine again, when their fire is dead ! ” 

‘ ‘ Is there, then, no danger that the brfilot will yet come 
down upon us, — she is fearfully near ! ” 

“Not sufiiciently so to do us harm; more especially as 
our sails are damp with dew. Here she cannot come, so 
long as our cable stands ; and, as that is under water where 
she lies, it cannot burn. In half-an-hour there will be little 
of her left ; and we will enjoy the bonfire while it lasts.” 

And, now the fear of danger was past, it was a sight 
truly to be enjoyed. Every anxious and curious face in the 
lugger was to be seen, under that brilliant light, turned to- 
ward the glowing mass, as the sunflower follows the great 
source of heat, in his track athwart the heavens ; while the 
spars, sails, guns, and even the smallest object on board the 
lugger, started out of the obscurity of night into the bright- 
ness of such an illumination, as if composing parts of some 
brilliant scenic display. But so fierce a flame soon ex- 
hausted itself. Erelong, the felucca’s masts fell, and with 
them a pyramid of fire. Then the glowing deck tumbled 
in ; and, finally, timber after timber, and plank after plank 
fell, until the conflagration, in a great measure, extinguished 
itself in the water on which it floated. An hour after the 
flames appeared, little remained but the embers which were 
glowing in the hold of the wreck. 



CHAPTER XII. 

“ A justice of the peace, for the time being, 

They bow to, but may turn him out next year ; 

They reverence their priest, but, disagreeing 
In price or creed, dismiss him without fear ; 

They have a natural talent for foreseeing 

And knowing all things ; and should Park appear 

From his long tour in Africa, to show 

The Niger’s source, they ’d meet him with — We know.” 

HAi,i:.:ecK. 

R AOUE was not mistaken as to the manner in which 
they were obtained, and the means employed by 
his enemies. The frigate had found one of the 
feluccas loaded with naval stores, including some 
ten or fifteen barrels of tar ; and it instantly struck Grifiin, 
who was burning to revenge the defeat of the morning, that 
the prize might be converted into a fire- vessel. As the 
second lieutenant volunteered to carry her in, always a 
desperate service, Cuffe gave his consent. Nothing could 
have been better managed than the whole duty connected 
with this exploit, including the manner in which our hero 
saved his vessel from destruction. The frigate kept between 
her prize and the lugger, to conceal the fact that a boat re- 
mained on board the former ; and, when all was ready, the 
felucca was apparently permitted to proceed on her voyage. 
The other two prizes were allowed to go free, also, as cloaks 
to the whole affair. Grifiin, as has been seen, kept standing 
in for the land ; his object being to get up stream from the 
lugger, and as near her as possible. When he found himself 
almost as far ahead as was desirable, drags were used, to 
keep the craft stationary, and, in this manner, she drifted 




183 


down on her intended victim, as has been already described. 
But for the sagacity and uneasiness of Ithuel, the plan 
woiild altogether have escaped detection, and, but for the 
coolness, courage, and resources of Raoul, it would infallibly 
have succeeded, notwithstanding the suspicions that had 
been excited. 

Cufife, and the people on deck, watched the whole affair 
with the deepest interest. They were barely able to see 
the sails of the felucca, by means of a night-glass, as she 
was dropping down on the lugger; and Yelverton had 
just exclaimed that the two vessels were foul of each other, 
when the flames broke out. As a matter of course, at that 
distance, both craft seemed on fire ; and when Le Teu-Fol- 
let had dropped a hundred yards nearer to the frigate, leav- 
ing the felucca blazing, the two were so exactly in a line, as 
to bring them together, as seen from the former’s decks. 
The English expected every moment to hear the explosion 
of the lugger’s magazine ; but, as it did not happen, they 
came to the conclusion it had been drowned. As for Grifiin, 
he pulled in-shore, both to avoid the fire of Ee Feu-Follet, 
in passing her broadside, and in the hope of intercepting 
Raoul, while endeavoring to escape in a boat. He even 
went to a landing in the river, quite a league from the 
anchorage, and waited there until long past midnight, when, 
finding the night beginning to cloud over, and the obscurity 
to increase, he returned to the frigate, giving the smoulder- 
ing wreck a wide berth, for fear of accidents. 

Such, then, was the state of things, when Captain Cuffe 
appeared on deck, just as the day began to dawn, on the 
following morning. He had given orders to be called at 
that hour, and was now all impatience to get a view of the 
sea, more particularly in-shore. At length the curtain be- 
gan slowly to rise, and his view extended farther and 
farther towards the river, until all was visible, even to the 
very land. Not a craft of any sort was in sight. Even 
the wreck had disappeared, though this was subsequently 
discovered in the surf; having drifted out with the current, 
until it struck an eddy, which carried it in again, when it 
was finally stranded. No vestige of Ee Feu-Follet, how- 


184 




ever, was to be seen. Not even a tent on the shore, a 
wandering boat, a drifting spar, or a rag of a sail ! All had 
disappeared, no doubt, in the conflagration. As Cuffe went 
below, he walked with a more erect mien than he had done 
since the affair of the previous morning ; and as he opened 
his writing-desk, it was with the manner of one entirely- 
satisfied with himself, and his own exertions. Still, a 
generous regret mingled with his triumph. It was a great 
thing to have destroyed the most pernicious privateer that 
sailed out of France ; and yet it was a melancholy fate to 
befall seventy or eighty human beings, to perish like so 
many curling caterpillars, destroyed by fire. Nevertheless, 
the thing was done ; and it must be reported to the author- 
ities above him. The following letter was consequently 
written to the commanding officer in that sea, namely : — 

His Majesty’s Ship Proserpine, Off the Mouth of the Golo, / 
Island of Corsica, July 23, 1799. ) 

My Ford, — I have the satisfaction of reporting, for the 
information of my Fords Commissioners of the Admiralty 
the destruction of the republican privateer, the Fe Few- 
Folly, commanded by the notorious Raoul Yvard, on the 
night of the 2 2d inst. The circumstances attending this 
important success are as follows. Understanding that the 
celebrated picaroon had been on the Neapolitan and Roman 
coasts, doing much mischief, I took his majesty’s ship close 
in, following up the peninsula, with the land in sight, until 
we got through the Canal of Flba, early on the morning of 
the 2ist. On opening Porto Ferrajo bay, we saw a lugger 
lying at anchor off the town, with English colors flying. 
As this was a friendly port, we could not suppose the craft 
to be the Fe Few-Folly ; but, determined to make sure, we 
beat in, signalling the stranger, until he took advantage of 
our stretching well over to the eastward, to slip round the 
rocks, and get off to windward. We followed, for a short 
distance, and then ran over under the lee of Capraya, where 
we remained until the morning of the 2 2d, when we again 
went off the town. We found the lugger in the offing ; and 
being now well satisfied of her character, and it falling calm, 




185 

I sent the boats after her, under Messrs. Winchester and 
Griffin, the first and second of this ship. After a sharp 
skirmish, in which we sustained some loss, though that 
of the republicans was evidently much greater. Monsieur 
Yvard succeeded in effecting his escape in consequence of a 
breeze’s suddenly springing up. Sail was now made on the 
ship, and we chased the lugger into the mouth of the Golo. 
Having fortunately captured a felucca, with a quantity of 
tar and other combustible materials on board, as we drew 
in with the land, I determined to make a fire-ship of her, 
and to destroy the enemy by that mode ; he having anchored 
within the shoals, beyond the reach of shot. Mr. Win- 
chester, the first, having been wounded in the boat-affair, I 
intrusted the execution of this duty to Mr. Griffin, who 
handsomely volunteered, and by whom it was effectually 
discharged, about ten last evening, in the coolest and most 
officer-like manner. I inclose this gentleman’s report of the 
affair, and beg leave to recommend him to the favor of my 
Ivords Commissioners. With Mr. Winchester’s good con- 
duct, under a sharp fire, in the morning, the service has also 
every reason to be satisfied. I hope this valuable officer 
will soon be able to return to duty. 

Permit me to congratulate you, my lord, on the complete 
destruction of this most pernicious cruiser of the enemy. 
So effectual has it been, that not a spar or a fragment of 
wreck, remains. We have reason to think every soul on 
board perished ; and though this fearful loss of human life 
is to be deeply deplored, it has been made in the service of 
good government and religion. The lugger was filled with 
loose women ; our people hearing them singing their philo- 
sophical and irreligious songs, as they approached with the 
fire- vessel. I shall search the coast for any rafts that may 
be drifting about, and then proceed to Leghorn for fresh 
provisions. 

I have the honor to be, my lord. 

Your lordship’s most obedient servant, 

Richard 

To Rear Admiral the Right Hon. Lord Nelson, 

Duke of Bronte, etc., etc., etc. 




1 86 


Cuffe read this report over twice ; then he sent for 
Griffin, to whom he read it aloud, glancing his eye mean- 
ingly at his subordinate, when he came to the part where he 
spoke of the young man’s good conduct. 

“So much for that d d Jack-o’ -Lantern, Griffin! I 

fancy it will lead no one else on a wild-goose chase.” 

“ I trust not, sir. Will you allow me to suggest a slight 
alteration in the spelling of the lugger’s name. Captain 
Cuffe ; the clerk can make it, when he writes out the letter 
fairly.” 

‘ ‘ Ay ; I dare say it is different from what we would 
have it, French spelling being no great matter, in general. 
Put it as you please ; though Nelson has as great a con- 
tempt for their boasted philosophy and learning as I have 
myself. I fancy you will find all the English spelt right. 
How do you write their confounded gibberish ? ” 

‘ ‘ Feu-Follet, sir, pronouncing the last part of it io\-lay ; 
not fol-^. I was thinking of asking leave, Captain Cuffe, 
to take one of the cutters, and pull up to the lugger’s anchor- 
age, and see if anything can be found of her wreck. The ship 
will hardly get under way until the westerly wind comes.” 

“ No ; probably not. I will order my gig manned, and 
we’ll go together. Poor Winchester must keep house 
awhile ; so there is no use in asking him. I saw no neces- 
sity for putting Nelson into a passion, by saying anything 
about the exact amount of our loss in that boat scrape, 
Griffin.” 

‘ ‘ I agree with you, sir, that it is best as it is. ‘ Some 
loss ’ covers everything ; it means ‘ more or less. ’ ’ ’ 

“That was just my notion. I dare say there may have 
been twenty women in the lugger. ’ ’ 

“ I can’t answer for the number, sir ; but I heard female 
singing as we got near, in the fire-ship ; and think it likely 
there may have been that number. The lugger was full- 
manned; for they were like bees swarming on her fore- 
castle, when we were dropping foul. I saw Raoul Yvard 
by the light of the fire, as plainly as I now see you, and 
might have picked him off with a musket ; but that would 
hardly have been honorable.” 




187 

To this Cuffe assented, and then he led the way on deck, 
having previously ordered the boats manned. The two 
officers proceeded to the spot where they supposed the Feu- 
Follet had been anchored, and rowed round for near an 
hour, endeavoring to find some traces of her wreck on the 
bottom. Griffin suggested that, when the magazine was 
drowned, in the hurry and confusion of the moment, the 
cock may have been left open, a circumstance that might 
very well have carried down the bottom of so small a vessel, 
in two or three hours ; more especially after her hull had 
burnt to the water’s edge. The next thing was to find this 
bottom, by no means a hopeless task, as the waters of the 
Mediterranean are usually so clear that the eye can pene- 
trate several fathoms, even off the mouth of the Golo, a 
stream that brought more or less debris from the mountains. 
It is scarcely necessary to say, that the search was not 
rewarded with success, the Feu-Follet being, just at that 
time, snug at anchor at Bastia, where her people had 
already taken out her wounded mainmast, with a view to 
step a new one in its place. At that very moment. Carlo 
Giuntotardi, his niece, and Raoul Yvard, were walking up 
the principal street of the town, the place standing on a 
hill, like Porto Ferrajo, perfectly at their ease, as regards 
fire-ships, English frigates, and the dangers of the seas. 
But all this was a profound mystery to Cuffe and his com- 
panions, who had long been in the habit of putting the 
most favorable constructions on the results of their profes- 
sional undertakings, and certainly not altogether without 
reason ; and who nothing doubted that Ee Feu-Follet had, 
to use their own language, ‘ ‘ laid her bones somewhere 
alongshore, here.” 

After two or three hours passed in fruitless search, Cuffe 
determined to return to his ship. He was a keen sports- 
man, and had brought a fowling-piece with him in his gig, 
with a half- formed design of landing, and whiling away the 
time, until the westerly wind came, among some marshes 
that he saw near the shore; but had been persuaded by 
Griffin not to venture. 

‘ ‘ There must be woodcock in that wet ground, Griffin, ’ ’ 


i88 


M^n0==an^^TKIl^n9 


he said, as he reluctantly yielded a little in his intention ; 
‘ ‘ and Winchester would fancy a bird exceedingly in a day 
or two. I never was hit in m)" life that I did not feel a 
desire for game, after the fever was gone. Snipe, too, must 
live on the banks of that stream. Snipe are coming in sea- 
son now, Griffin ? ’ ’ 

“It ’s more likely, sir, that some of the privateersmen 
have got ashore on planks and empty casks, and are prowl- 
ing about in the weeds, watching our boats. Three or four 
of them would be too much for you. Captain Cuffe, as the 
scoundrels all carry knives as long as ship’s cutlasses.” 

“ I suppose your notion may be true ; and I shall have to 
give it up. Pull back to the frigate, Davy, and we ’ll be off 
after some more of these French ragamuffins. ’ ’ 

This settled the matter. In half-an-hour the boats were 
swinging at the Proserpine’s quarters ; and three hours later 
the ship was under her canvas, standing slowly off the land. 
That day, however, the zephyr was exceedingly light, and 
the sun set just as the ship got the small island of Pianosa 
abeam, when the air came from the northward, and the 
ship’s head was laid in to the eastward ; the course lying 
between the land just mentioned, and that of Klba. All 
night the Proserpine was slowly fanning her way along the 
south side of the latter island, when, getting the southerly 
air again in the morning, she reappeared in the Canal of 
Piombono, as the day advanced, precisely as she had done 
before, when first introduced to the acquaintance of the 
reader. Cuffe had given orders to be called, as usual, when 
the light was about to return ; it being a practice with him, 
in that active and pregnant war, to be on deck at such 
moments, in order to ascertain, with his own eyes, what the 
fortunes of the night had brought within his reach. 

“ Well, Mr. Griffin,” he said, as soon as he had received 
the salutation of the officer of the watch, “you have had a 
still night of it. Yonder is the Point of Piombino, I see ; 
and here we have got Elba, and this little rocky island 
again, on our larboard hand. One day is surprisingly like 
another about these times, for us mariners in particular.” 

“Do you really think so. Captain Cuffe? Now to my 


Mmo^an&^Ming 


189 


notion, this day hasn’t had its equal on the Proserpine’s 
log, since we got hold of ly’^Spervier and her convoy. You 
forget, sir, that we destroyed I^e Feu-Follet last night ! ” 

“Ay — that is something — especially for you, GriflSn. 
Well, Nelson will hear of it by mail, as soon as we can get 
into Leghorn, which will be immediately after I have had an 
opportunity of communicating with these people in Porto 
Ferrajo. After all that has passed, the least we can do is to 
let your veechy-govern-the-tories know of our success.’’ 

‘ ‘ Sail, ho ! ’ ’ shouted the look-out, on the fore-topsail- 
yard. 

The two officers turned, and gazed round them in every 
direction, when the captain made the customary demand of 
‘ ‘ Where-away ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Here, sir, close aboard of us, on our larboard hand, and 
on our weather quarter.” 

‘ ‘ On our weather quarter ! D n me if that can be 

true, Griffin. There is nothing but the island there. The 
fellow cannot have mistaken this little island for the hull of 
a ship? ” 

“ If he has, sir,” answered Griffin, laughing, “it must 
be for a twenty-decker. That is Ben Brown aloft ; and he 
is as good a look-out as we have in the ship.” 

‘ ‘ Do you see her, sir ? ” demanded Ben Brown, looking 
over his shoulder to put the question. 

“ Not a bit of her,” cried Cuffe. “You must be dream- 
ing, fellow. What does she look like? ” 

“There, this small island shuts her in from the deck, 
sir. She is a lugger ; and looks as much like the one we 
burnt last night, sir, as one of our cat-heads is like 
t’ other.” 

“A lugger!” exclaimed Cuffe. “What, another of the 
blackguards I By Jove I I ’ll go aloft, and take a look 
for myself. It ’s ten to one that I see her from the main- 
top.” 

In three minutes more, Captain Cuffe was in the top in 
question ; having passed through the lubber-hole, as every 
sensible man does, in a frigate, more especially when she 
stands up for want of wind. This was an age in which 


■watng»an&»Ming 


190 

promotion was rapid, there being few gray-bearded lieuten- 
ants, then, in the English marine ; and even admirals were 
not wanting who had not cut all their wisdom-teeth. Cuffe, 
consequently, was still a young man ; and it cost him no 
great effort to get up his ship’s ratlines in the manner 
named. Once in the top, he had all his eyes about him. 
For quite a minute he stood motionless, gazing in the direc- 
tion that had been pointed out by Ben Brown. All this 
time Griffin stood on the quarter-deck, looking quite as in- 
tently at his superior as the latter gazed at the strange sail. 
Then Cuffe deigned to cast a glance literally beneath him, 
in order to appease the curiosity, which, he well understood, 
it was so natural for the officer of the watch to feel. Griffin 
did not dare to ask his captain what he saw ; but he looked 
a volume of questions on the interesting subject. 

“A sister corsair, by Jupiter Ammon!” cried Cuffe; 
‘*a twin sister, too ; for they are as much alike as one cat- 
head is hke another. More too, by Jove, if I am any 
judge.” 

‘ ‘ What will you have us do. Captain Cuffe ? ’ ’ inquired 
the lieutenant. “We are now going to leeward, all the 
while. I don’t know, sir, that there is positively a current 
here, but — ” 

“Very well, sir — very well; haul up on the larboard 
tack, as soon as possible, and get the larboard batteries 
clear. We may have to cripple the chap, in order to get 
hold of him.” 

As this was said, Cuffe descended through the same lub- 
ber-hole, and soon appeared on deck. The ship now became 
a scene of activity and bustle. All hands were called, and 
the guns were cleared away by some, while others braced 
the yards, according to the new line of sailing. 

The reader would be greatly aided, in understanding 
what is to follow, could he, perchance, cast a look at a map 
of the coast of Italy. He will there see that the eastern 
side of the Island of Elba runs in a nearly north and south 
direction, Piombino lying off about north-northeast from 
its northern extremity. Near this northern extremity lies 
the little rocky islet, so often mentioned, or the spot which 




191 


Napoleon, fifteen years later, selected as the advanced re- 
doubt of his insular empire. Of course, the Proserpine 
was on one side of this islet, and the strange lugger on the 
other. The first had got so far through the canal as to be 
able to haul close upon the wind, on the larboard tack, and 
yet to clear the islet ; while the last was just far enough to 
windward, or sufficiently to the southward, to be shut out 
from view from the frigate’s decks, by the intervening rocks. 
As the distance from the islet to the island did not much 
exceed a hundred or two yards. Captain Cuffe hoped to in- 
close his chase between himself and the land, never dream- 
ing that the stranger would think of standing through so 
narrow and rocky a pass. He did not know his man, how- 
ever, who was Raoul Yvard ; and who had come this way, 
from Bastia, in the hope of escaping any further collision 
with his formidable foe. He had seen the frigate’s lofty 
sails, above the rock, as soon as it was light ; and being 
under no hallucination on the subject of her existence, he 
knew her at a glance. His first order was to haul every- 
thing as flat as possible ; and his great desire was, to get 
from under the lee of the mountains of Elba into this very 
pass, through which the wind drew with more force than it 
blew anywhere near by. 

As the Proserpine was quite a league off, in the canal, 
Ee Feu-Follet, which sailed so much the fastest in light 
winds, had abundance of time to effect her object. Instead 
of avoiding the narrow pass between the two islands, Raoul 
glided boldly into it ; and, by keeping vigilant eyes on his 
fore-yard, to apprise him of danger, he succeeded in mak- 
ing two stretches in the strait itself, coming out to the 
southward on the starboard tack, handsomely clearing the 
end of the islet at the very instant the frigate appeared on 
the other side of the pass. The lugger had now an easy 
task of it; for she had only to watch her enemy, and tack 
in season, to keep the islet between them ; since the Eng- 
lish did not dare to carry so large a ship through so narrow 
an opening. This advantage Raoul did not overlook, and 
Cuffe had gone about twice, closing, each time, nearer and 
nearer to the islet, before he was satisfied that his guns 


192 




would be of no service, until be could at least weather the 
intervening object ; after which they would most probably 
be useless, in so light a wind, by the distance between them 
and their enemy. 

“Never mind, Mr. Griffin; let this scamp go,” said the 
captain, when he made this material discovery ; “ it is pretty 
well to have cleared the seas of one of them. Besides, we 
do not know that this is an enemy at all. He showed no 
colors, and seems to have just come out of Porto Ferrajo, a 
friendly haven.” 

“ Raoul Yvard did that, sir, not once, but twice,” muttered 
Yelverton, who, from the circumstance that he had not been 
employed in the different attempts on I^e Feu-Follet, was 
one of the very few dissentients in the ship touching her 
fate. “ These twins are exceedingly alike, especially Pomp, 
as the American negro said of his twin children. ’ ’ 

This remark passed unheeded ; for so deep was the de- 
lusion in the ship touching the destruction of the privateer, 
it would have been as hopeless an attempt to try to persuade 
her officers, and people generally, that Te Feu-Follet was 
not burned, as it would be to induce a “great nation” to 
believe it had any of the weaknesses and foibles that con- 
fessedly beset smaller communities. The Proserpine was 
put about again, and, setting her ensign, she stood into the 
bay of Porto Ferrajo ; anchoring quite near the place that 
Raoul had selected for the same purpose, on two previous 
occasions. The gig was lowered, and Cuffe, accompanied 
by Griffin as an interpreter, landed, to pay the usual visit of 
ceremony to the authorities. 

The wind being so light, several hours were necessary to 
effect all these changes ; and, by the time the two officers 
were ascending the terraced street, the day had advanced 
sufficiently to render the visit suitable as to time. Cuffe 
appearing in full uniform, with epaulettes and sword, his ap- 
proach attracted notice ; and Vito Viti hurried off to apprise 
his friend of the honor he was about to receive. The vice- 
governatore was not taken by surprise, therefore, but had 
some little time to prepare his excuses for being the dupe of 
a fraud as impudent as that which Raoul Yvard had so sue- 




m 


cessfully practised on him. The reception was dignified, 
though courteous ; and it had none the less of ceremony, 
from the circumstance that all which was said by the respec- 
tive colloquists had to be translated before it could be under- 
stood. This circumstance rendered the few first minutes 
of the interview a little constrained ; but each party having 
something on his mind, of which it was his desire to be 
relieved, natural feeling soon got the better of forms. 

“I ought to explain to you, Sir Cufie, the manner in 
which a recent event occurred in our bay, here, ’ ’ observed 
the vice-govematore ; “since, without such explanation, 
you might be apt to consider us neglectful of our duties, 
and unworthy of the trust which the Grand Duke reposes 
in us. I allude, as you will at once understand, to the cir- 
cumstance that Te Feu-Follet has twice been lying peace- 
ably under the guns of our batteries, while her commander, 
and, indeed, some of her crew, have been hospitably enter- 
tained on shore.” 

“ Such things must occur, in times like these, Mr. Veechy- 
govematory ; and we seamen set them down to the luck of 
war,” Cuffe answered graciously, being much too magnani- 
mous, under his own success, to think of judging others too 
harshly. “It might not be so easy to deceive a man-of- 
war’ s-man like myself ; but, I dare say, Veechy-governa- 
tory, had it been anything relating to the administration of 
your little island, here, even Monsieur Yvard would have 
found you too much for him ! ’ ’ 

The reader will perceive that Cuffe had got a new way of 
pronouncing the appellation of the Flban functionary ; a 
circumstance that was owing to the desire we all have, 
when addressing foreigners, to speak in their own language 
rather than in our own. The worthy captain had no more 
precise ideas of what a z/2V^-governor means, than the Ameri- 
can people, just now, seem to possess of the signification of 
2^2V^-president ; but, as he had discovered that the word was 
pronounced ‘ ‘ veechy , ’ ’ in Italian, he was quite willing to 
give it its true sound ; albeit a smile struggled round the 
mouth of Griffin while he listened. 

“You do me no more than justice, Signor Kooffe, or Sir 
13 


194 




Kooffe, as, I presume, I ought to address you,” answered 
the functionary; “for, in matters touching our duties on 
shore here, we are by no means as ignorant as on matters 
touching your honorable calling. This Raoul Yvard pre- 
sented himself to me in the character of a British officer, 
one I esteem and respect ; having audaciously assumed the 
name of a family of high condition, and of great power, I 
believe, among your people — ” 

“Ah, the barone ! ” exclaimed Cuffe, who, having dis- 
covered by his intercourse with the southern Italians that 
this word meant a “ rascal ” as well as a “ baron,” was fond 
of using it on suitable occasions. “ Pray, Veechy-govema- 
tory, what name did he assume ? Ca’endish, or Howard, or 
Seymour, or some of those great nobs, Griffin, I ’ll engage ! 
I wonder that he spared Nelson ! ” 

“ No, Signore, he took the family appellation of another 
illustrious race. The republican corsair presented himself 
before me as a Sir Smees — the son of a certain Milordo 
Smees.” 

“Smees — Smees — Smees! I’ve no recollection of any 
such name in the peerage. It can’t be Seymour that the 
veechy means ! That is a great name, certainly ; and some 
of them have been in the service ; it is possible this barone 
may have had the impudence to hail for a Seymour ! ” 

“I rather think not. Captain Cuffe. ‘Smees’ is very 
much as an Italian would pronounce ‘ Smith,’ as, you know, 
the French call it ‘Smeet.’ It will turn out that this Mr. 
Raoul has seized upon the first English name he fell in with, 
as a man overboard clutches at a spar adrift, or a life-buoy ; 
and that happened to be ‘ Smith. ’ ’ ’ 

“Who the devil ever heard of a my lord Smith I A 
pretty sort of aristocracy we should have, Griffin, if it were 
made up of such fellows I ” 

“Why, sir, the name can make no great difference; the 
deeds and the antiquity forming the essentials.” 

“And he assumed a title, too— 5/^ Smees ! I dare say he 
was ready to swear his majesty made him a knight ban- 
neret, under the royal ensign, and on the deck of his own 
ship; as was done with some of the old admirals. The 




195 


veechy, however, has forgotten a part of the story, as it must 
have been Sir John, or Sir Thomas Smees, at least. 

“No, sir ; that is the way with the French and the Ital- 
ians, who do not understand our manner of using Christian 
names with titles ; as in our Sir Edwards, and Eord Harrys, 
and Eady Bettys.” 

‘ ‘ Blast the French ! I can believe anything of them, 
though I should have thought that these Italians knew bet- 
ter. However, it may be well to give the veechy a hint of 
what we have been saying, or it may seem rude; and, 
harkye, Griffin, while you are about it, rub him down a 
little touching books, and that sort of thing ; for the sur- 
geon tells me he has heard of him, in Eeghorn, as a regular 
leaf-cutter.” 

The lieutenant did as ordered, throwing in an allusion to 
Andrea’s reputation for learning, that, under the circum- 
stances, was not ill-timed ; and which, as it was well enough 
expressed, was exceedingly grateful to his listener just at 
that awkward moment. 

“My claims to literature are but small. Signore,” an- 
swered Andrea, with humility, “as I beg you will inform 
Sir Kooffe ; but they were sufficient to detect certain as- 
sumptions of this corsair ; a circumstance that came very 
near bringing about an exposure at a most critical moment. 
He had the audacity. Signore, to wish to persuade me that 
there was a certain English orator of the same name, and of 
equal merit of him of Roma and Pompeii — one Sir Cicero ! ” 

“The barone ! ’’ again exclaimed Cuffe, when this new 
offence of Raoul’s was explained to him. “I believe the 
rascal was up to anything. But there is an end of him, 
now, with all his Sir Smees and Sir Ciceros into the bargain. 
Just let the veechy into the secret of the fellow’s fate, 
Griffin.” 

Griffin then related to the vice-governatore the manner 
in which it was supposed that Ee Feu-Follet, Raoul Yvard, 
and all his associates, had been consumed, like caterpillars 
on a tree. Andrea Barrofaldi listened, with a proper degree 
of horror expressed in his countenance ; but Vito Viti heard 
the tale with signs of indifference and incredulity that he did 


196 




not care to conceal. Nevertheless, Griffin persevered, until 
he had even given an account of the manner in which he 
and Cuffe examined the lugger’s anchorage, in the bootless 1 
attempt to discover the wreck. : 

To all this the two functionaries listened with profound 
attention, and a lively surprise. After looking at each other , 
several times, and exchanging significant gestures, Andrea 
assumed the office of explaining. I 

‘ ‘ There is some extraordinary mistake in this. Signor 
Tenente, ’ ’ he said ; “for Raoul Yvard still lives. He passed 
this promontory just as day dawned, in his lugger, this very 
morning ! ” 

‘ ‘ Ay, he has got that notion from having seen the fellow ^ 
we fell in with off the harbor here,” answered Cuffe, when 
this speech was translated to him; “and I don’t wonder 
at it, for the two vessels were surprisingly alike. But the 
barone that we saw burned with our own eyes, Griffin, can 
never float again. I say barone ; for, in my opinion, the 
Few-Folly was just as much of a rascal as her commander, 
and all who sailed in her. ’ ’ 

Griffin explained this ; but it met with no favor from the 
two Italians. 

“Not so. Signor Tenente — not so,” returned the vice- 
govematore; “the lugger that passed this morning, we 
know to be Te Feu-Follet, inasmuch as she took one of 
our own feluccas, in the course of the night, coming from 
lyivorno, and Raoul Yvard permitted her to come in, as he 
said to her padrone, on account of the civil treatment he 
had received while lying in our port. Nay, he even car- 
ried his presumptions so far, as to send me, by means of the 
same man, the compliments of ‘Sir Smees,’ and his hopes 
of being able, some day, to make his acknowledgments 
in person.” 

The English captain received this intelligence as might 
be expected ; and, unpleasant as it was, after putting vari- 
ous questions to the vice-governatore, and receiving the 
answers, he was obliged, unwillingly enough, to believe it 
all. He had brought his official report in his pocket ; and, 
as the conversation proceeded, he covertly tore it into frag- 




197 


ments so small that even a Mohammedan would reject them, 
as not large enough to write the word “Allah ” on. 

“It ’s d d lucky, Griffin, that letter did n’t get to 

Leghorn, this morning,” he said, after a long pause. 
“Nelson would have Bronted me famously, had he got it ! 
Yet, I never believed half as devoutly in the twenty-nine 
articles as — ” 

“I believe there are thtrfy-mnQ of them. Captain Cuffe,” 
modestly put in Griffin. 

“Well, tkzrfy-nine, if you will; what signifies ten, more 
or less, in such matters ? A man is ordered to believe them 
all, if there were a hundred. But I never believed in them 
as devoutly as I believed in the destruction of that infernal 
picaroon. My faith is unsettled for life ! ” 

Griffin offered a few words of condolence, but he was also 
too much mortified to be very able to administer consolation. 
Andrea Barrofaldi, understanding the state of the case, now 
interposed with his courtesies, and the two officers were 
invited to share his bachelor’s breakfast. What followed, 
in consequence of this visit, and the communications to 
which it gave rise, will appear in the course of the narrative. 




CHAPTER XIII. 


** If ever you have looked on better days, i 

If ever been where bells have knolled to church, 

If ever sat at any good man’s feast, j 

If ever from your eyelids wiped a tear, t 

And know what ’t is to pity and be pitied. 

Let gentleness my strong enforcement be.” 

ShakhspEarb. 

I T is now necessary to advance the time, and to transfer 
the scene of our tale to another, but not a distant, 
part of the same sea. Eet the reader fancy himself 
standing at the mouth of a large bay of some sixteen 
or eighteen miles in diameter, in nearly every direction; | 
though the shores must be indented with advancing prom- 
ontories and receding curvatures, while the depth of the 
whole might possibly a little exceed the greatest width. He 
will then occupy the spot of which we wish to present to 
him one of the fairest panoramas of earth. On his right | 

stands a high, rocky island of dark tufa, rendered gay, amid | 

all its magnificent formations, by smiling vineyards and teem- 
ing villages, and interesting by ruins that commemorate j 
events as remote as the Caesars. A narrow passage of the 
blue Mediterranean separates this island from a bold cape on I 
the main, whence follows a succession of picturesque, vil- ^ 
lage-clad heights and valleys, relieved by scenery equally j 
bold and soft, and adorned by the monkish habitations ^ 
called in the language of the country Camaldolis, until we 
reach a small city which stands on a plain that rises above | 

the water between one and two hundred feet, on a base of | 

tufa, and the houses of which extend to the very verge j 

of the dizzy clifis that limit its extent on the north. The 




199 


plain itself is like a hive, with its dwellings and scenes of life, 
while the heights behind it teem with cottages and the signs 
of human labor. Quitting this smiling part of the coast, we 
reach a point, always following the circuit of the bay, where 
the hills or heights tower into ragged mountains, which 
stretch their pointed peaks upwards to some six or seven 
thousand feet towards the clouds, having sides now wild 
with precipices and ravines, now picturesque with shooting- 
towers, hamlets, monasteries, and bridle-paths ; and bases 
dotted, or rather lined, with towns and villages. Here the 
mountain formation quits the margin of the bay, following 
the coast southward, or running into the interior of the 
country ; and the shore, sweeping round to the north and 
west, offers a glimpse into a backgroimd of broad plain, ere 
it meets a high, insulated, conical mountain, which properly 
forms the head of the coast indentation. The human eye 
never beheld a more affluent scene of houses, cities, villages, 
vineyards, and country residences, than was presented by 
the broad breast of this isolated mountain ; passing which 
a wider view is obtained of the rich plain that seems to lie 
behind it, bounded as it is by a wall of a distant and mysteri- 
ous-looking, yet bold range of the Apennines. Returning 
to the shore, which now begins to incline more westwardly, 
we come to another swell of tufa, which has all the charac- 
teristic fertility and abruptness of that peculiar formation, a 
vast and populous town of near half a million of souls 
being seated, in nearly equal parts, on the limits of the 
plain, and along the margin of the water, or on the hill- 
sides, climbing to their summits. From this point the 
northern side of the bay is a confused mass of villages, 
villas, ruins, palaces, and vines, until we reach its extrem- 
ity ; a low promontory, like its opposite neighbor. A small 
island comes next, a sort of natural sentinel ; then the coast 
sweeps northward into another and a smaller bay, rich to 
satiety with relics of the past, terminating at a point some 
miles farther seaward, with a high, reddish, sandy bluff, 
which almost claims to be a mountain. After this we see 
two more islands, lying westward, one of which is flat, fer- 
tile, and more populous, as is said, than any other part of 


200 




Europe of the same extent ; while the other is a glorious 
combination of pointed mountains, thronged towns, fertile 
valleys, castles, country-houses, and the wrecks of long- 
dormant volcanoes, thrown together in a grand, yet winning 
confusion. If the reader will, to this description, add a 
shore that has scarce a foot that is not interesting with some 
lore of the past, extending from yesterday into the darkest 
recesses of history, give life to the water-view with a fleet 
of little lateen-rigged craft, rendered more picturesque by 
an occasional ship, dot the bay with countless boats of fish- 
ermen, and send up a wreath of smoke from the summit of 
the cone-like mountain that forms the head of the bay, he 
will get an outline of all that strikes the eye, as the stranger 
approaches Naples from the sea. 

The zephyr was again blowing, and the daily fleet of 
sparanaras, or undecked feluccas, that passes every morn- 
ing, at this season, from the south shore to the capital, and 
returns at this hour, was stretching out from under Vesu- 
vius ; some looking up as high as Massa ; others heading 
towards Sorrento, or Vico, or Persano, and many keeping 
more before the wind, towards Castel-a-Mare, or the land- 
ings in that neighborhood. The breeze was getting to be so 
fresh, that the fishermen were beginning to pull in towards 
the land, breaking up their lines, which, in some places, had 
extended nearly a league, and this, too, with the boats lying 
within speaking distance of each other. The head of the 
bay, indeed, was alive with craft moving in different direc- 
tions, while a large fleet of English, Russians, Neapolitans, 
and Turks, composed of two-deckers, frigates, and sloops, 
lay at their anchors in front of the town. On board of one 
of the largest of the former, was flying the flag of a rear- 
admiral at the mizzen, the symbol of the commander’s 
rank. A corvette, alone, was under way. She had left the 
anchorage an hour before, and with studding-sails on her 
starboard side, was stretching diagonally across the glorious 
bay, apparently heading towards the passage between Capri 
and the Point of Campanella, bound to Sicily. This ship 
might easily have weathered the island ; but her com- 
mander, an easy sort of person, chose to make a fair wind 


M(ng»anJ)=»Mtng 


201 


of it from the start, and he thought, by hugging the coast, 
he might possibly benefit by the land-breeze, during the 
night, trusting to the zephyr that was then blowing to 
carry him across the Gulf of Salerno. A frigate, too, shot 
out of the fleet, under her staysails, as soon as the westerly 
wind made ; but she had dropped an anchor under-foot, and 
seemed to wait some preparation, or orders, before taking 
her departure ; her captain being at that moment on board 
the flag-ship, on duty with the rear-admiral. This was the 
Proserpine, thirty-six. Captain Cuffe, a vessel and an officer 
that are both already acquaintances of the reader. About 
an hour before the present scene opens, Captain Cuffe, in 
fact, had been called on board the Foudroyant by signal, 
where he had found a small, sallow-looking, slightly-built 
man, with his right arm wanting, pacing the deck of the 
fore-cabin, impatient for his appearance. 

“Well, Cuffe,” said this uninviting-looking personage, 
twitching the stump of the maimed arm, ‘ ‘ I see you are out 
of the flock ; are you all ready for sailing ? ’ ’ 

“We have one boat ashore after letters, my lord ; as soon 
as she comes off, we shall lift our anchor, which is only 
under-foot.” 

“Very well ; I have sent the Ringdove to the southward, 
on the same errand, and I see she is half-a-league from the 
anchorage, on her way, already. This Mr. Griffin appears 
to be a fine young man ; I like his account of the way he 
handled his fire-ship, though the French scoundrel did contrive 
to escape ! After all, this Rowl B — E — how do you pro- 
nounce the fellow’s name, Cuffe? I never can make any- 
thing out of their gibberish.” 

“Why, to own the truth. Sir Horatio— I beg pardon; 
my lord— there is something in the English grain of my 
feelings that would prevent my ever learning French, had 
I been born and brought up in Paris. There is too much 
Saxon in me to swallow words that half the time have no 
meaning.” 

“I like you all the better for that, Cuffe,” answered the 
admiral, smiling, a change that converted a countenance that 
was almost ugly, when in a state of rest, into one that was 


202 


XKIl^na**an^^M^no 


almost handsome ; a peculiarity that is by no means of rare 
occurrence, when a strong will gives expression to the fea- 
tures, and the heart, at bottom, is really sound. “An 
Englishman has no business with any Gallic tendencies. 
This young Mr. Griffin seems to have spirit ; and I look 
upon it always as a good sign, when a young man volunteers 
for a desperate thing of this sort : but he tells me he is only 
second ; where was your first, all the while ? ’ ’ 

“ Why, my lord, he got a little hurt in the brush of the 
morning ; and I would not let him go, as a matter of course. 
His name is Winchester ; I think you must remember him, 
as junior of the Captain, at the affair off St. Vincent. Miller ^ 
had a good opinion of him ; and, when I went from the 
Arrow to the Proserpine, he got him sent as my second. 
The death of poor Drury made him first, in the natural way.’’ 

“ I have some recollection of him, Cuffe. That was a 
brilliant day, and all its events should be impressed on my 
mind. You tell me, Mr. Griffin fairly grappled the lugger’s 
cable?’’ 

“Of that there can be no manner of doubt. I saw the 
two vessels foul of each other, with my night-glass — and, 
seemingly, both were on fire — as plainly as I ever saw 
Vesuvius, in a dark night.” 

“ And yet this Few-Folly has escaped ! Poor Griffin has 
run a desperate risk for little purpose.” 

“ He has, indeed, my lord.” 

Here, Nelson, who had been pacing the cabin with quick 
steps, while Cuffe stood, respectfully declining the gesture 
to be seated, at the table in its centre, suddenly stopped, 
and looked the captain steadily in the face. The expression 
of his countenance was now mild and earnest, and the pause 
which preceded his words gave the latter solemnity and 
weight. 

* Ralph Willet Miller, the officer who commanded the ship to 
which Nelson shifted his pennant, at the battle of Cape St. Vincent. 
This gentleman was an American, and a native Manhattanese ; his 
near relatives of the same name still residing in New York. It is be- 
lieved that he got the name of Willet from the first English Mayor, a 
gentleman from whom are descended many of the old families of the 
lower part of the State ; more particularly those on hong Island. 


MinG^anb:*Xim!na 


203 


“ The day will come, Cufie,” he said, “when this young 
man will rejoice that his design on these picaroons, French- 
men as they are, failed. Yes, from the bottom of his heart 
will he be glad.” 

“My lord !” 

“I know you think this strange. Captain Cuffe; but no 
man sleeps the sounder for having burnt or blown up a hun- 
dred of his fellow-creatures, like so many widows at a suttee. 
But we are not the less to commend those who did what was 
certainly their duty.” 

“Am I to understand, lyord Nelson, that the Proserpine 
is not to destroy the Few-Folly at every hazard, should we 
again have the luck to fall in with her ? ” 

“ By no means, sir. Our orders are to bum, sink, and 
destroy. Such is England’s policy, in this desperate war ; 
and it must be carried out. You know what we are con- 
tending for as well as I do ; and it is a struggle that is not 
to be carried on with courtesies ; still, one would not wish 
to see a glorious and sacred cause tarnished by inhumanity. 
Men that fall in fair, manly combat, are to be envied rather 
than pitied, since it is only paying the great debt of nature 
a little sooner than might otherwise have happened; but 
there is something revolting to humanity in burning up our 
fellow-creatures as one would biun rags after the plague. 
Nevertheless, this lugger must be had at any price; for 
English commerce and English power are not to be cut up 
and braved, in this audacious manner, with impunity. The 
career of these French tigers must be stopped at every sac- 
rifice, Captain Cuffe.” 

‘ ‘ I know that, my lord ; and I like a republican as little 
as you can do ; or his majesty himself, for that matter ; and, 
I take it, he has as little relish for the animal as flesh and blood 
can give.” 

“ I know you do, Cuffe — I ’m sure you do ; and I esteem 
you all the more for it. It is a part of an Englishman’s 
religion, in times like these, to hate a Frenchman. I went 
across the Channel, after the peace of ’83, to learn their 
language, but had so little sympathy with them, even in 
peaceable times, as never to be able to make out to write a 


204 




letter in it, or even to ask intelligibly for the necessaries of 
life. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ If you can ask for anything, it far surpasses my efforts. 
I never can tell head from stern, in their dialect.” 

“ It is an infernal jargon, Cufife, and has got to be so con- 
fused by their academies, and false philosophy, and infidelity, 
that they will shortly be at a loss to understand it them- 
selves. What sort of names they give their ships, for 
instance, now they have beheaded their king, and denounced 
their God ! Who ever heard of christening a craft, as you 
tell me this lugger is named, the ‘ Few Folly ’ ? I believe 
I ’ve got the picaroon’s title right? ” 

“Quite right; GriflGln pronounces it so, though he has 
got to be a little queerish in his own English, by using so 
much French and Italian. The young man’s father was a 
consul ; and he has half a dozen foreign lingoes stowed away 
in his brain. He pronounces Folly something broadish — 
like 'Bollaj/ I believe ; but it means all the same thing. 
Folly is folly, pronounce it as you will.” 

Nelson continued to pace his cabin, working the stump of 
his arm, and smiling half-bitterly, half in a sort of irony, 
that inclined him to be in a good-humor with himself. 

“ Do you remember the ship, Cufife, we had that sharp 
brush with off Toulon, in old Agamemnon ? ” he said, after 
making a turn or two in silence. ‘ ‘ I mean the dismasted 
eighty-four, that was in tow of the frigate, and which we 
peppered until their Gallic soup had some taste to it ! 
Now, do you happen to know her real name, in good honest 
English ? ’ ’ 

“ I do not, my lord. I remember they said she was 
called the Qa Ira ; and I always supposed that it was the 
name of some old Greek or Roman, or, perhaps, of one 
of their new-fangled republican saints.” 

“They! D n ’em, they’ve got no saints to name, 

my good fellow, since they cashiered all of the old ones I 
There is something respectable in the names of a Spanish 
fleet ; and one feels that he is flogging gentlemen, at least, 
while he is at work on them. No, sir, Qa Ira means neither 
more nor less than ‘That ’ll Do’ ; and I fancy, Cufife, they 




205 


thought of their own name more than once, while the old 
Greek was hanging on their quarter, smashing their cabin 
windows for them ! A pretty sound it would have been, 
had we got her, and put her into our own service — 
his majesty’s ship ‘That’ll Do,’ eighty-four, Captain 
Cuffe!” 

“I certainly should have petitioned my lyords Commis- 
sioners to change her name.” 

“You would have done quite right. A man might as 
well sail in a man-of-war called the ‘ Enough.’ Then, there 
was the three-decker that helped her out of the scrape, the 
Sans-Culottes, as the French call her ; I suppose you know 
what that means ? ’ ’ 

“Not I, my lord ; to own the truth, I ’m no scholar ; and 
am entirely without ambition in that way. ‘ Sans, ’ I sup- 
pose, is the French for ‘ saint’ ; but, who ‘ Culottes’ was, 
I ’ve not the least notion.” 

Nelson smiled, and the turn the conversation had taken 
appeared to give him secret satisfaction. If the truth were 
known, something lay heavily on his mind ; and, with one 
of his strong impulses, his feelings disposed him to rush from 
one extreme to the other, as is often the case with men who 
are controlled by such masters ; more especially if their gen- 
eral disposition is to the right. 

“You ’re wrong this time, my dear Cuffe,” he said ; “for 
‘ sans ’ means ‘ without’ in French, and ‘ culottes ’ means 
‘breeches.’ Think of naming a three-decker the ‘Without 
Breeches ’ ! I do not see how any respectable flag-officer 
can mention such names in his despatches, without a feeling 
of awkwardness, that must come near to capsizing all his 
philosophy. The line was formed by the republic’s ship, 
the ‘That’ll Do,’ leading, supported by the ‘Without 

Breeches,’ as her second astern ! Ha ! Cuffe ; d e, sir, if 

I ’d serve in a marine that had such names to the ships ! 
It’s a thousand times worse than all those saints the 
Spaniards tack on to their vessels ; like a line of boats, tow- 
ing a ship up to her moorings ! ” 

Here the conversation was interrupted by the appearance 
of a midshipman, who came down to say that a man and a 


2o6 


Xlm^no^an^s=TKa^na 


woman, from the shore, wished to see the rear-admiral on 
pressing business. 

“I^et them come down, sir,” answered Nelson ; “ I’ve a 
hard hfe of it, Cuffe ; there is not a washerwoman or a shop- 
keeper in Naples, who does not treat me exactly as if I were 
a podest^, and it were my duty to hear all the contentions 
about lost clothes and mislaid goods. His majesty must 
appoint a lyord Chief Justice of the Steerage, to administer 
the law for the benefit of the young gentlemen, or he’ll 
soon get no officer to serve with a flag at his mast-head. ’ ’ 

“Surely, my lord, the captains can take this weight off 
your shoulders ! ” 

“Ay, there are men in the fleet that can, and there are 
men who do ; but there are men who do not. But here 
comes the plaintiff, I suppose ; you shall hear the case, and 
act as a puisne judge in the matter.” 

This was said as the cabin door opened, and the expected 
guests entered. They were a man turned of fifty, and a 
girl of nineteen. The former was a person of plain exte- 
rior, abstracted air, and downcast look ; but the latter had 
all the expression, beauty, nature, and grace of mien, that 
so singularly marked the deportment and countenance of 
Ghita Caraccioli.’ In a word, the two visitors were Carlo 
Giuntotardi and his gentle niece. Nelson was struck with 
the modesty of mien and loveliness of the latter, and he 
courteously invited her to be seated, though he and Cuffe 
both continued standing. A few efforts at making himself 
understood, however, soon satisfied this renowned admiral 
that he had need of an interpreter, his guests speaking no 
English, and his own Italian being too imperfect to carry on 
anything like a connected conversation. He hesitated an 
instant, and then went to the door of the inner cabin, an 
apartment in which voices had occasionally been heard the 
whole time, one of the speakers being a female. Here he 
stood, leaning against the bulkhead, as if in doubt ; and then 
he uttered his wishes. 

‘ It may aid the reader who is ignorant of Italian, to tell him this 
name is pronounced Ca-rach-cho-li. The same is true of Gwee-cho- 
li — or Guiccioli — Byron’s mistress. 


Mtnfl=anb=Min9 


207 


** I must ask a service of you, which I would not think of 
doing in any ordinary case,” he said, with a gentleness of 
voice and manner that showed he addressed one who had 
habitual influence over him. “I want an interpreter be- 
tween myself and the second handsomest woman in the 
kingdom of Naples : I know no one so fit for the office as 
the first.” 

“With all my heart, dear Nelson,” answered a full, rich 
female voice from within. “Sir William is busied in his 
antiquities ; and I was really getting to be ennuied for want 
of an occupation. I suppose you have the wrongs of some 
injured lady to redress, in your capacity of I,ord High Chan- 
cellor of the Fleet.” 

“lam yet ignorant of the nature of the complaint ; but 
it is not unlikely it will turn out to be something like that 
which you suspect. Even in such a case, no better inter- 
cessor can be required, than one who is so much superior to 
the frailties and weaknesses of her sex in general.” 

The lady who now made her appearance from the inner 
cabin, though strikingly handsome, had not that in her 
appearance which would justify the implied eulogium of the 
British admiral’s last speech. There was an appearance of 
art and worldliness in the expression of her countenance 
that was only so much the more striking, when placed in 
obvious contrast to the ingenuous nature and calm purity 
that shone in every lineament of the face of Ghita. One 
might very well have passed for an image of the goddess 
Circe ; while the other would have made no bad model for 
a vestal, could the latter have borne the moral impression 
of the sublime and heart-searching truths that are inculcated 
by the real oracles of God. Then the lady was a woman 
in the meridian of her charms, aided by all the cunning of 
the toilet, and a taste that was piquant and peculiar, if not 
pure ; while the other stood in her simple, dark Neapolitan 
bodice, and a head that had no other ornament than its 
own silken tresses ; a style of dress, however, that set off 
her faultless form and winning countenance more than could 
have been done by any of the devices of the mantua-maker 
or the milliner. The lady betrayed a little surprise, and. 


2o8 




perhaps, a shade of uneasiness, as her glance first fell on 
Ghita; but, much too good an actress to be disconcerted 
easily, she smiled, and immediately recovered her ease. 

“Is this the being. Nelson, who comes with such a peti- 
tion?” she demanded, with a touch of natural, womanly 
sensibility in her voice; “and that poor old man, I dare 
say, is the heart-stricken father.” 

“ As to the errand, you will remember, I know nothing as 
yet ; and pledge myself to nothing.” 

‘ ‘ Captain Cuffe, I hope I have the pleasure to see you 
well. Sir William joins the admiral in hoping you will 
make one of our little family party to-day, at dinner, and — ’ * 

“And what says the mistress, not of the house, but of 
the ship?” put in Nelson, whose eyes had scarce turned 
an instant from the face of the siren since she entered the 
fore-cabin. 

“That she — always disclaiming the title, honorable 
though it be — that she unites with all the rest in inviting 
Captain Cuffe to honor us with his company. Nelson tells 
me you were one of his old Agamemnons, as he calls you all, 
aged and young, men and boys, little and big ; and I love 
even the sound of the name. What a glorious title for a 
ship — Agamemnon ! A Greek, led on by a true English 
heart ! ’ ’ 

“Ay, it is somewhat better than ‘That’ll Do,’ and the 
other affair, ha ! Cuffe ? ’ ’ returned the admiral, smiling, and 
glancing at his subordinate ; ‘ ‘ but all this time we are igno- 
rant of the errand of this honest-looking Italian, and his 
exceedingly innocent-looking companion.” 

“Well, then, in this matter, gentlemen, I am only to be 
regarded as a mere mouth-piece,” put in the lady; “an 
echo, to repeat what reaches mine ear, though it be an Irish 
echo, which repeats in a different tongue from that in which 
the sounds first reach it. Put your questions, my lord; 
they shall be faithfully rendered, with all the answers that 
may be given. I only hope Captain Cuffe will come out of 
this affair as innocent as he now looks.” 

The two gentlemen smiled ; but the trifling could not 
disturb its subject, as he was profoundly ignorant of the 


Mtn0=anJ)=TRIlin9 


209 


existence of the two strangers, five minutes before ; while 
the boldness of the allusion rather suited the freedom of a 
ship, and the habits of the part of the world in which they 
happened to be. 

“We will first inquire the name of this worthy man, if 
you will condescend to ask it,” observed Nelson, to his fair 
friend. 

“Carlo Giuntotardi, noble lady; once a poor scholar, 
in Napoli, here, and now a keeper of the prince’s watch- 
towers on the heights of Argentaro,” was the quiet, but 
respectful answer of the man, who, like his niece, had de- 
clined taking a seat, a circumstance that left the whole party 
standing ; “ Carlo Giuntotardi, illustrious lady.” 

“ A very good name. Signore, and one of which you have 
no need to be ashamed. And thine ? ’ ’ turning to the girl. 

“Ghita Caraccioli, Kccellenza ; the sister’s daughter of 
this honest tower-keeper of the prince.” 

Had a bomb exploded over the Foudroyant, Nelson cer- 
tainly would not have been as much startled ; while the 
lady’s beautiful face assumed a look of dark resentment, not 
unmingled with fear. Kven Cufife understood enough of 
the sounds to catch the name, and he advanced a step, with 
lively curiosity, and an anxious concern expressed on his 
ruddy face. But these emotions soon subsided, the lady 
first regaining her self-possession, though Nelson paced the 
cabin five or six times, working the stump of his arm, 
before he even looked up again. 

“I was about to ask if there never is to be an end to 
these annoyances,” observed the lady, in English; “but 
there must be some mistake in this. The house of Carac- 
cioli is one of the most illustrious of Italy, and can scarcely 
have any of this class, who feel an interest in him of whom 
we are thinking. I will, therefore, inquire further into this 
matter. Signorina,” — changing the language to Italian, 
and speaking with severity, like one who questioned what 
she heard, — “Caraccioli is a noble name; and is not often 
borne by the daughter of any prince’s tower-keepers ! ” 

Ghita trembled, and she looked abashed. But she was 

sustained by too high a principle, and was too innocent, her- 
14 


2 to 




self, to stand long rebuked in the presence of guilt ; and, as 
the flush which resembled that which so often passes over 
her native skies at even, left her countenance, she raised her 
eyes to the dark-looking face of the lady, and gave her 
answer. 

“ I know what your Kccellenza means,” she said, “and 
feel its justice. Still it is cruel to the child, not to bear the 
name of her parent. My father was called Caraccioli ; and 
he left me his name as my sole inheritance. What may 
have been his right to it, let my uncle say.” 

“Speak, then. Signor Giuntotardi. First, give us the 
history of this name ; then tell us what has brought you 
here.” 

“Noble lady, my sister, as pious and innocent a woman 
as ever lived in Italy, and now blessed in heaven, married 
Don Francesco Caraccioli, the son of Don Francesco of that 
illustrious family, who now stands condemned to death, for 
having led the fleet against the king ; and Ghita, here, is 
the only fruit of the union. It is true, that the Church did 
not authorize the connection which brought my niece’s 
father into being ; but the noble admiral never hesitated to 
acknowledge his son, and he gave him his name, until love 
bound him in wedlock with a poor scholar’s sister. Then, 
indeed, his father turned his face from him ; and death soon 
removed both husband and wife from the reach of all earthly 
displeasure. This is our simple story, noble and illustrious 
Signora ; and the reason why my poor niece, here, bears the 
name as great as that of Caraccioli.” 

“You mean us to understand. Signor Giuntotardi, that 
your niece is the granddaughter of Don Francesco Carac- 
cioli, through a natural son of that unfortunate admiral? ” 

“ Such is the fact. Signora. As my sister was honestly 
married, I could do no less than bring up her daughter to 
bear a name that her father was permitted to bear before 
her.” 

“ Such things are common, and require no apology. One 
question more, before I explain to the English admiral what 
you have said. Does Prince Caraccioli know of the exis- 
tence of this granddaughter ? ” 


TWltnflsanCf^Mlng 


2II 


“Kccellenza, I fear not. Her parents died so soon — I 
loved the child so well — and there was so little hope that 
one, illustrious as he, would wish to acknowledge a connec- 
tion through the Holy Church, with persons humble as we, 
that I have never done more to make my niece known, than 
to let her bear the same name as her father.” 

The lady seemed relieved by this; and she now briefly 
explained to Nelson the substance of what the other had said. 

“ It may be,” she added, “ they are here on that errand 
concerning which we have already heard so much, and so 
uselessly ; but I rather think not, from this account ; for 
what interest can they feel in one who is absolutely a stran- 
ger to them ? It may be some idle conceit, however, con- 
nected with this same affair. What is your wish, Ghita ? 
This is Don Horatio Nelsoni, the illustrious English admiral, 
of whom you have heard so much.” 

“ Eccellenza, I am sure of it,” answered Ghita, earnestly ; 
‘‘my good uncle, here, has told you who we are ; and you 
may well guess our business. We came from St. Agata, 
on the other side of the bay, only this morning, and heard 
fi'om a relation in the town, that Don Francesco had been 
seized that very hour. Since, we are told that he has been 
condemned to die, for treason against the king ; and that, 
by ofiicers who met in this very ship. Some even say. 
Signora, that he is to meet his fate ere the sun set ! ” 

‘ ‘ If this should be so, what reason is it that thou shouldst 
give thyself concern ? ’ ’ 

‘‘ Eccellenza, he was my father’s father ; and though I 
never saw him, I know that the same blood runs in our 
veins. When this is so, there should be the same feelings 
in our hearts. ’ ’ 

“This is well, Ghita, in appearance, at least; but thou 
canst hardly feel much for one thou never saw’st and who 
has even refused to own thee for a child. Thou art young, 
too, and of a sex that should ever be cautious ; it is unwise 
for men, even, to meddle with politics in these troubled 
times.” 

“Signora, it is not politics that brings me here, but 
nature, and duty, and pious love for my father’s father.” 


212 




“What wouldst thou say, then?” answered the lady 
impatiently; “remember thou occupiest one whose time is ! 
precious, and of high importance to entire nations.” j 

‘ ‘ Kccellenza, I believe it ; and will try to be brief. I I 
wish to beg my grandfather’s life of this illustrious stranger. , 
They tell me the king will refuse him nothing ; and he has : 
only to ask it of Don Ferdinando, to obtain it.” ' 

Many would have thought the matured charms of the ; 
lady superior to the innocent-looking beauty of the girl ; but 
no one could have come to such an opinion, who saw them 
both at that moment. While Ghita’s face was radiant with 
a holy hope, and the pious earnestness which urged her on, 
a dark expression lowered about the countenance of the ; 
English beauty, that deprived it of one of its greatest attrac- ' 
tions, by depriving it of the softness and gentleness of her 
sex. Had there not been observers of what passed, it is 
probable the girl would have been abruptly repulsed ; but , 
management formed no small part of the character of this 
woman, and she controlled her feelings, in order to effect 
her purposes. 

“This admiral is not a Neapolitan, but an Englishman,” 
she answered ; “ and can have no concern with the justice ; 
of your king. He would scarcely think it decent to interfere 
with the execution of the laws of Naples.” | 

“Signora, it is always decent to interfere to save life; 
nay, it is more ; it is merciful, in the eyes of God.” 

“What canst thou know of this? A conceit that thou I 
hast the blood of the Caraccioli has made thee forget thy 
sex and condition, and placed a romantic notion of duty 
before thine eyes.” , 

“No, Signora, it is not so. For eighteen years have I ’ 
been taught that the unfortunate admiral was my grand- 
father, but, as it has been his pleasure to wish not to see 
me, never have I felt the desire to intrude on his time. 
Before this morning, never has the thought that I have the 
blood of the Caraccioli crossed my mind, unless it was to ' 
mourn for the sin of my grandmother ; and even now, it has 
come to cause me to mourn for the cruel fate that threatens > 
the days of her partner in guilt.” 




213 


*‘Thou art bold, to speak thus of thy parents, girl ; and 
they, too, of the noble and great ! ’ ’ 

This was said with a flushed brow, and still more lower- 
ing look ; for, haply, there were incidents in the past life of 
that lady which made the simple language of a severe moral- 
ity alike offensive to her ears and her recollections. 

“It is not I, Kccellenza, but God, that speaketh thus. 
The crime, too, is another reason why this great admiral 
should use his influence to save a sinner from so hurried an 
end. Death is terrible to all but to those who trust, with 
heart and soul, to the mediation of the Son of God ; but it 
is doubly so when it comes suddenly and unlooked for. It 
is true, Don Francesco is aged ; but have you not remarked. 
Signora, that it is these very aged who become hardened to 
their state, and live on, as if never to die? — I mean those 
aged, who suffer youth to pass, as if the pleasures of life are 
never to have an end. ’ ’ 

“Thou art too young to set up for a reformer of the 
world, girl ; and forgettest that this is the ship of one of 
the greatest officers of Europe, and that he has many de- 
mands on his time. Thou canst now go ; I will repeat what 
thou hast said. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ I have another request to ask, Kccellenza — permission 
to see Don Francesco ; that I may at least receive his bless- 
ing.” 

“He is not in this ship. Thou wilt find him on board 
the Minerva frigate ; no doubt, he will not be denied. Stop 
—these few lines will aid thy request. Addio, Signorina.” 

“And may I carry hope with me, Kccellenza? Think 
how sweet life is to those who have passed their days so long 
in affluence and honor. It would be like a messenger from 
heaven for a grandchild to bring but a ray of hope.” 

‘ ‘ I authorize none. The matter is in the hands of the 
Neapolitan authorities ; and we English cannot meddle. 
Go, now, both of you ; the illustrious admiral has business 
of importance that presses.” 

Ghita turned, and slowly and sorrowfully she left the 
cabin. At the very door, she met the English lieutenant, 
who was in charge of the unhappy prisoner, coming with a 


214 




last request that he might not be suspended like a thief, but 
might at least die the death of a soldier. It would exceed 
the limits set to our tale, were we to dwell on the conversa- 
tion which ensued ; but every intelligent reader knows that 
the application failed. 




CHAPTER XIV. 

“ Like other tyrants, Death delights to smite 
What smitten most proclaims the pride of power, 

And arbitrary nod.” Young. 

I T is probable that Nelson never knew precisely what 
passed between Ghita and the lady mentioned in the 
last chapter. At all events, like every other applica- 
tion that was made to the English admiral, in connec- 
tion with this sad affair, that of Ghita produced no results. 
Even the mode of execution was unchanged; an indecent 
haste accompanying the whole transaction, as in the equally 
celebrated trial and death of the unfortunate Due d’Enghien. 
Cuffe remained to dine with the commander-in-chief, while 
Carlo Giuntotardi and his niece got into their boat, and took 
their way through the crowded roadstead towards the Nea- 
politan frigate that now formed the prison of the unfortun- 
nate Caraccioli. 

A request, at the gangway, was all that was necessary to 
procure an admission on board the ship. As soon as the 
Signor Giuntotardi reached the quarter-deck, he let his 
errand be known, and a messenger was sent below to ascer- 
tain if the prisoner would see two visitors, the name of the 
uncle alone being given. Francesco Caraccioli, of the 
Princes Caraccioli, or, as he was more commonly called in 
English, Prince Caraccioli, was now a man approaching 
seventy ; and being a member of one of the most illustrious 
houses of Eower Italy, he had long been trusted in employ- 
ments of high dignity and command. On his offence — its 
apology — the indecent haste of his trial and execution, and 
the irregularity of the whole proceedings, it is now unneces- 



2i6 


TKDlino 


sary to dwell ; they have all passed into history, and are 
familiarly known to the world. That very morning had he 
been seized, and sent on board the Toudroyant ; in the cabin 
of that vessel had a court of his own countrymen convened ; 
and there had he been hastily condemned to death. The | 
hour of doom was near; and he was already in the ship 
where the execution was to take place. ' 

The messenger of Carlo Giuntotardi found this unfortu- , 
nate man with his confessor, by whom he had just been ' 
shrived. He heard the request with cold indifference, but 
granted it on the instant, under the impression that it came 
from some dependent of his family or estates, who had a last ' 
favor to ask, or an act of justice to see performed. ; 

“ Remain here, father, I beseech you,” said the prisoner, | 
perceiving that the priest was about to retire ; “ it is some | 

contadino, or some tradesman, whose claims have been over- | 

looked. I am happy that he has come ; one would wish to 1 
stand acquitted of injustice before he dies. Let them come 
in, my friend. ’ ’ 

A sign was given with these words, the door of the cabin | 
was opened, and Ghita, with her uncle, entered. A pause | 
of quite a minute followed, during which the parties re- i 
garded each other in silence ; the prisoner endeavoring, in j 
vain, to recall the countenances of his guests, and the girl | 
trembling, equally with grief and apprehension. Then the 
last advanced to the feet of the condemned man, knelt, bowed | 
her head, and said, — | 

‘ ‘ Grandfather, your blessing on the child of your only son . ” 
“Grandfather! — son I — and his child!” repeated Don i 
Francesco. “ I had a son, to my shame and contrition be I 

it now confessed ; but he has long been dead. I never knew ^ 

that he left a child ! ” 

“This is his daughter. Signore,” replied Carlo Giunto- | 
tardi ; “her mother was my sister. You thought us then 
too humble to be received into so illustrious a connection ; 
and we have never wished to bring ourselves before your | 
eyes, until we thought our presence might be welcome.” 

‘ ‘ And thou comest now, good man, to claim affinity with | 
a condemned criminal ! ” ! 


mfno*anb»M(n(j 


217 


“Not so, grandfather,” answered a meek voice at his feet ; 
“it is your son’s daughter that craves a blessing from her 
dying parent. The boon shall b^ well requited in prayers 
for your soul ! ” 

“Holy father! I deserve not this! Here has this ten- 
der plant lived, neglected in the shade, until it raises its 
timid head to offer its fragrance in the hour of death ! I 
deserve not this ! ” 

‘ ‘ Son, if Heaven offered no mercies until they are merited, 
hopeless, truly, would be the lot of man. But we must not 
admit illusions at such a moment. Thou art not a husband, 
Don Francesco ; hadst thou ever a son ? ” 

“That, among other sins, have I long since confessed; 
and, as it has been deeply repented of, I trust it is forgiven. 
I had a son — a youth who bore my name, even ; though 
he never dwelt in my palace ; until a hasty and indiscreet 
marriage banished him from my presence. I ever intended 
to pardon him, and to make provision for his wants ; but 
death came too soon to both husband and wife to grant the 
time. This much I did know, and it grieved me that it was 
so ; but of his child, never, before this instant, have I heard ! 
’T is a sweet countenance, father ; it seems the very abode 
of truth ! ’ ’ 

“Why should we deceive you, grandfather ? ” rejoined 
Ghita, stretching her arms upwards, as if yearning for an 
embrace; “most of all at a time like this ! We come not 
for honors, or riches, or your great name ; we come simply 
to crave a blessing, and to let you know that a child of youf 
own blood will be left on earth, to say aves in behalf of 
your soul ! ” 

“ Holy priest, there can be no deception here ! This dear 
child even looks like her wronged grandmother ! and my 
heart tells me she is mine. I know not whether to consider 
this discovery a good or an evil, at this late hour, coming, 
as it does, to a dying man ! ” 

“ Grandfather, your blessing. Bless Ghita once, that I 
may hear the sound of a parent’s benediction.” 

“ Bless thee ! — bless thee, daughter ! ” exclaimed the 
admiral, bending over the weeping girl, to do the act she 


2i8 




solicited, and then raising her to his arms, and embracing 
her tenderly; “this must be my child — I feel that she is 
no other.” 

“ Kccellenza,” said Carlo, “she is the daughter of your 
son Don Francesco, and of my sister, Ghita Giuntotardi, 
bom in lawful wedlock. I would not deceive any ; least of 
all a dying man.” 

“I have no estate to bequeath, no honors to transmit, 
no name to boast of. Better the offspring of the lazzaroni 
than a child of Francesco Caraccioli, at this moment.” 

“Grandfather, we think not of this — care not for this. 
I have come only to ask the blessing you have bestowed, 
and to offer the prayers of believers, though we are so lowly. 
More than this we ask not — ^wish not — seek not. Our 
poverty is familiar to us, and we heed it not. Riches would 
but distress us, and we care not for them.” 

‘ ‘ I remember, holy father, that one great reason of dis- 
pleasure at my son’s marriage was distrust of the motive 
of the family which received him ; yet here have these hon- 
est people suffered me to live on unmolested in prosperity, 
while they now first claim the affinity in my disgrace and 
ignominy ! I have not been accustomed to meet with wishes 
and hearts like these ! ’ ’ 

“You did not know us, grandfather, ” said Ghita, simply, 
her face nearly buried in the old man’s bosom. “ We have 
long prayed for you, and reverenced you, and thought of 
you as a parent, whose face was turned from us in anger ; 
but we never sought your gold and honors.” 

“Gold and honors!” repeated the admiral, gently plac- 
ing his granddaughter in a chair. ‘ ‘ These are things of 
the past for me. My estates are sequestered — ^my name 
disgraced; and, an hour hence, I shall have suffered an 
ignominious death. No selfish views can have brought these 
good people, father, to claim affinity with me at a moment 
like this.” 

“It comes from the goodness of God, son. By letting 
you feel the consolation of this filial love, and by awakening, 
in your own bosom the spark of parental affection, he fore- 
shadows the fruits of his own mercy and tenderness to the 


Mtng»an6=Ming 


219 


erring but penitent. Acknowledge his bounty in your soul ; 
it may bring a blessing on your last moment.” 

” Holy priest, I hope I do. But what says this ? ” 

Don Francesco took a note from the hand of a servant, and 
read its contents eagerly ; the world, and its feelings, having 
too much hold on his heart to be plucked out in an instant. 
Indeed, so sudden had been his arrest, trial, and conviction, 
that it is not surprising the priest found in him a divided 
spirit, even at an instant like that. His countenance fell ; 
and he passed a hand before his eyes, as if to conceal a weak- 
ness that was unbecoming. 

“They have denied my request, father,” he said ; “ and I 
must die like a felon ! ” 

“The Son of God suffered on the cross, suspended between 
thieves.” 

“ I believe there is far less in these opinions than we are 
accustomed to think ; yet it is cruel for one who has filled 
so high employments — a prince, a Caraccioli — ^to die like a 
lazzarone ! ’ ’ 

“ Grandfather — ” 

“ Did you speak, child ? I wonder not that this indignity 
should fill thee with horror.” 

“ It is not that, grandfather,” resumed Ghita, shaking off 
her doubts, and looking up with flushed cheeks, and a face 
radiant with holy feelings, “ O, it is not that. If my life 
could save thine, gladly would I give it up for such a pur- 
pose ; but, do not — do not, at this awful moment, mistake 
the shadow for the substance. What matters it how death 
is met, when it opens the gates of heaven ? Pain, I am sure, 
you cannot fear ; even I, weak and feeble girl that I am, 
can despise that : what other honor can there be in the hour of 
death, than to be thought worthy of the mercy and care of 
God ? Caraccioli or lazzarone, prince or beggar, it will matter 
not, two hours hence ; and let me reverently beg of you to 
humble your thoughts to the level which becomes all sinners. ’ ’ 

“ Thou say’ St thou art my grandchild, Ghita, the daughter 
of my son Francesco ? ’ ’ 

“ Signore, I am, as all tell me— as my heart tells me, and 
as I believe.” 


220 




“And thou look’st upon these opinions as unworthy — 
unsuited, if thou lik’st that better— to this solemn moment, 
and considerest the manner of death matter of indifference, 
even to a soldier ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ When placed in comparison with his hopes of heaven, 
when viewed through his own demerits, and the merits of 
his Saviour, grandfather.” 

“ And wilt thou, then, just entering on the stage of life, 
with the world before thee, and all that its future can offer, 
accompany me to the scaffold ; let it be known to the mock- 
ing crowd that thou derivest thy being through the felon, 
and art not ashamed to own him for a parent ? ’ ’ 

“ I will, grandfather ; this have I come to do,” answered 
Ghita, steadily. ‘ ‘ But do not ask me to look upon thy suf- 
ferings ! All that can be done to lessen, by sharing thy dis- 
grace, if disgrace it be, will I most gladly do ; though I dread 
to see thy aged form in pain ! ’ ’ 

“ And this wilt thou do for one thou never beheld ’st until 
this hour ? — one thou canst hardly have been taught to con- 
sider just to thyself ? ’ ’ 

“ If I have never seen thee before this visit, grandfather, 
I have loved thee and prayed for thee from infancy. My 
excellent uncle early taught me this duty ; but he never 
taught me to hate thee, or any one. My own father is taken 
away ; and that which he would have been to thee, this 
day, will I endeavor to be for him. The world is naught to 
me ; and it will console thee to think that one is near, whose 
heart weeps for thee, and whose soul is lost in prayers for 
thy eternal pardon.” 

‘ ‘ And this being, father, is made known to me an hour 
before I die ! God punishes me sufficiently for the wrong 
I ’ve done her, in letting me thus know her worth, when it 
is too late to profit by it. No, Ghita, blessed child, such a 
sacrifice shall not be asked of thee. Take this cross ; it was 
my mother’s, worn on her bosom, and has long been worn 
on mine ; keep it as a memorial of thy unhappy parent, and 
pray for me ; but quit this terrible ship, and do not grieve 
thy gentle spirit with a scene that is so unfit for thy sex 
and years. Bless thee — ^bless thee, my child ! Would to 




221 


heaven I had earlier known thee ! but even this glimpse 
of thy worth has lightened my heart. Thou find’st me here 
a poor condemned criminal, unable to provide for thy future 
wants — nay, I can yet do a little for thee, too. This bag 
contains gold. It has been sent to me by a relative, think- 
ing it might be of service in averting the punishment that 
awaits me. For that purpose it is now useless ; with thy 
simple habits, however, it will render thy life easy and above 
care.” 

Ghita, with streaming eyes, steadily put aside the gold, 
though she pressed the cross to her bosom, kissing it fervently 
again and again. 

“Not that — not that, grandfather,” she said ; “I want it 
not — ^wish it not. This is enough ; and this will I keep to 
my own last moment. I will quit the ship, too ; but not 
the place. I see many boats collecting, and mine shall be 
among them ; my prayers shall go up to God for thee, now 
thou art living ; and daily, after thou art dead. There needs 
no gold, grandfather, to purchase a daughter’s prayers.” 

Don Francesco regarded the zealous and lovely girl with 
intense feeling ; then he folded her to his heart once more, 
blessing her audibly, again and again. While thus em- 
ployed, the Foudroyant’s bell struck once, and then those of 
all the surrounding ships, English and Neapolitan, repeated 
the stroke. This, Caraccioli, a seaman himself, well knew 
denoted that the time was half-past four ; five being the 
hour named for his execution. He felt it necessary, there- 
fore, to dismiss his new-found relative, that he might pass a 
few more minutes alone with his confessor. The parting 
was solemn, but tender ; and as Ghita left the cabin, her 
condemned grandfather felt as he would, had he taken leave 
forever of one whom he had long loved, and whose virtues 
had been a solace to him from the hour of his birth. 

The deck of the Minerva presented a sorrowful scene. 
Although the prisoner had been condemned by a court of 
Neapolitan ofiicers, the trial was had under the British en- 
sign ; and the feeling of the public was with the prisoner. 
There existed no necessity for the hurry in which every- 
thing had been done ; no immediate danger pressed, and an 


222 


Minc»'ant)s*TKIltnG 


example would have been more impressive, had there been 
less of the appearance of a desire for personal vengeance, 
and more of the calm deliberation of justice in the affair. 
Ghita’s connection with the prisoner could not be even sus- 
pected ; but as it was known that she had been in the cabin, 
and believed that she felt an interest in the condemned, the 
officers manifested an interest in her wishes and too evident 
emotions. An immense throng of boats had assembled 
around the ship ; for, hasty as had been the proceedings, 
the tidings that Francesco Caraccioli was to be hanged for 
treason spread like wild-fire ; and scarce a craft of proper 
size was left within the mole, so eager was the desire to wit- 
ness that which was to occur. Hither in the confusion, or 
bribed by money, the man who had brought off Carlo Giun- 
totardi and his niece was no longer to be found ; and the 
means of quitting the ship seemed, momentarily, to be lost. 

“Here is a boat, close to our gangway,” said the officer 
of the deck, who had kindly interested himself in behalf of 
so interesting a girl, “with a single man in it ; a few grani 
would induce him to put you ashore.” 

The fellow in the boat was of the class of the lazzaroni, 
wearing a clean cotton shirt, a Phrygian cap, and cotton 
trousers, that terminated at the knees, leaving his muscular 
arms and legs entirely bare ; models for the statuary, in their 
neatness, vigor, and proportions. The feet, alone, formed 
an exception to the ordinary attire, for they were cased in 
a pair of quaint canvas shoes, that were ornamented a little 
like the moccasins of the American Indian. Carlo caught 
the eye of this man, who appeared to be eagerly watching 
the frigate’s gangway for a fare, and holding up a small 
piece of silver, in a moment the light boat was at the foot of 
the accommodation ladder. Ghita now descended; and as 
soon as her uncle and she were seated, the skiff, for it was 
little more, whirled away from the ship’s side, though two or 
three more, who has also been left by recreant boatmen for 
better fares, called out to him to receive them also. 

“We had best go alone, even though it cost us a heavier 
price,” quietly observed Carlo to his niece, as he noted this 
occurrence. “ Pull us a short distance from the ship, friend, 




223 


— here, where there are fewer boats ; and thou shalt meet 
with a fair reward. We have an interest in this solemn 
scene, and could wish not to be observed.” 

“I know that well. Signor Carlo,” answered the boat- 
man ; “ and will see that you are not molested.” 

Ghita uttered a faint exclamation, and, looking up, first 
saw that the feigned lazzarone was no other than Raoul 
Yvard. As her uncle was too unobservant, in general, to 
detect his disguise, he made a sign for her to command her- 
self, and continued rowing, as if nothing had occurred. 

“ Be at ease, Ghita,” said Carlo ; “ it is not yet the time, 
and we have twenty good minutes for our aves. ’ ’ 

Ghita, however, was far from being at ease. She felt all 
the risks that the young man now ran, and she felt that it 
was on her account solely that he incurred them. Even the 
solemn feeling of the hour, and the occasion, was disturbed 
by his presence ; and she wished he were away, on more 
accounts than one. Here he was, nevertheless, and in the 
midst of enemies ; and it would not have been in nature, for 
one of her tender years and sex, and, most of all, of her 
feelings, not to indulge in a sentiment of tender gratitude 
towards him, who had, as it were, thrust his head into the 
very lion’s mouth, to do her a service. Between Raoul and 
Ghita there had been no reserves on the subject of parent- 
age ; and the former understood why his mistress was here, 
as well as the motive that brought her. As for the last, 
she glanced timidly around her, fearful that the lugger, too, 
had been brought into the throng of ships that crowded the 
anchorage. For this, however, Raoul was much too wary, 
nothing resembling his little craft being visible. 

The reader will have understood that many vessels of 
war, English, Russian, Turkish, and Neapolitan, were now 
anchored in the bay. As the French still held the castle of 
St. Elmo, or the citadel that crowns the heights, that, in 
their turn, crown the town, the shipping did not lie quite as 
close to the mole as usual, lest a shot from the enemy above 
might do them injury ; but they were sufficiently near to 
permit all the idle and curious of Naples, who had the hearts 
and the means, to pull off and become spectators of the sad 


2^4 




scene that was about to occur. As the hour drew near, boat 
after boat arrived, until the Minerva was surrounded with 
spectators, many of whom belonged even to the higher 
classes of society. 

The distance between the Neapolitan frigate and the ship 
of the English rear-admiral was not great ; and everything 
that occurred on board the former, and which was not act- 
ually hidden by the sides and bulwarks of the vessel itself, 
was easily to be seen from the decks of the latter. Still 
the Foudroyant lay a little without the circle of boats ; and 
in that direction Raoul had pulled, to avoid the throng, 
resting on his oars when about a third of a cable’s length 
from the British admiral’s stern. Here it was determined 
to wait for the awful signal and its fatal consequences. 
The brief interval was passed, by Ghita, in telling her 
beads, while Carlo joined in the prayers with the devotion 
of a zealot. It is scarcely necessary to say, that all this 
Raoul witnessed without faith, though it would be doing 
injustice to his nature, as well as to his love for Ghita, to say 
he did so without sympathy. 

A solemn and expecting silence reigned in all the neigh- 
boring ships. The afternoon was calm and sultry, the 
zephyr ceasing to blow earlier than common, as if unwill- 
ing to disturb the melancholy scene with its murmurs. On 
board the Minerva no sign of life — scarcely of death — 
was seen ; though a single whip was visible, rigged to the 
fore-yard-arm, one end being led in-board, while the other 
ran along the yard, passed through a leading block, in its 
quarter, and descended to the deck. There was a platform 
fitted on two of the guns beneath this expressive but simple 
arrangement ; but, as it was in-board, it was necessarily 
concealed from all but those who were on the Minerva’s 
decks. With these preparations Raoul was familiar, and his 
understanding eye saw the particular rope that was so soon 
to deprive Ghita of her grandfather ; though it was lost to 
her and her uncle among the maze of rigging by which it 
was surrounded. 

There might have been ten minutes passed in this solemn 
stillness, during which the crowd of boats continued to 


1 


I 


I 


1 


I 




225 

collect ; and the crews of the different ships were permitted 
to take such positions as enabled them to become spectators 
of a scene that it was hoped might prove admonitory. It 
is part of the etiquette of a vessel of war to make her 
people keep close ; it being deemed one sign of a well-ordered 
ship to let as few men be seen as possible, except on those 
occasions when duty requires them to show themselves. 
This rigid rule, however, was momentarily lost sight of, and 
the teeming masses that floated around the Minerva gave up 
their thousands like bees clustering about their hives. It 
was in the midst of such signs of expectation that the call 
of the boatswain was heard piping the side on board the 
Foudroyant, and four side-boys lay over on the accommo- 
dation-ladder, a mark of honor never paid to one of a rank 
less than that of a captain. Raoul’s boat was within fifty 
yards of that very gangway, and he turned his head in idle 
curiosity to see who might descend into the gig that was 
lying at the foot of the long flight of steps. An officer 
with one epaulette came finst, showing the way to two civil- 
ians ; and a captain followed. All descended in a line, and 
entered the boat. The next instant the oars fell, and the 
gig whirled around under the Foudroyant’ s stem, and came 
glancing up towards his own skiff. Four or five of the 
strong man-of-war jerks sufficed to send the long, narrow 
boat as far as was desired, when the men ceased rowing, 
their little craft losing her way within ten feet of the skiff 
occupied by our party. Then it was that Raoul, to his 
surprise, discovered that the two civilians were no other 
than Andrea Barrofaldi and Vito Viti, who had accom- 
panied Cuffe and Griffin, their companions in the gig, on a 
cruise, of which the express object was to capture himself 
and his vessel. 

Another man would have been alarmed at finding himself 
in such close vicinity to his enemies ; but Raoul Yvard was 
amused, rather than rendered uneasy, by the circumstance. 
He had faith in his disguise ; and he was much too familiar 
with incidents of this sort not to retain his self-command 
and composure. Of course he knew nothing of the persons 
of the two Englishmen, but, perfectly aware of the presence 

*5 


226 




of the Proserpine, he guessed at their identity, and very 
correctly imagined the circumstances that brought compan- 
ions so ill-assorted together. He had taken no precautions 
to disguise his face ; and the red Phrygian cap which he 
wore, in common with thousands on that bay, left every feat- 
ure and lineament fully expressed. With Ghita, however, 
the case was different. She was far better known to the 
two Elbans, as indeed was the person of her uncle, than he 
was himself ; but both had veiled their faces in prayer. 

“ I do not half like this business, Griffin,” observed the 
captain, as his gig entirely lost its way ; ‘ ‘ and wish, with 
all my heart, we had nothing to do with it. I knew this old 
Caraccioli, and a very good sort of man he was ; and as to 
treason, it is not easy to say who is and who is not a traitor 
in times like these, in such a nation as this. Ha ! I believe 
my soul, this is the same old man, and the same pretty girl, 
that came to see Nelson half an hour ago about this very 
execution ! ’ ’ 

“What could they have to do with Prince Caraccioli, or 
his treason, sir ? The old chap looks bookish ; but he is not 
a priest ; and, as to the girl, she is trim-built enough ; I 
fancy the face is no great matter, however, or she would not 
take so much pains to hide it. ’ ’ 

Raoul muttered a ‘ ‘ sacr-r-re, ’ ’ between his teeth, but he 
succeeded in suppressing all outward expression of feeling. 
Cuffe, on the contrary, saw no other motive for unusual dis- 
cretion, beyond the presence of his boat’s crew, before 
whom, however, he was accustomed to less reserve than 
with his people in general. 

“ If she be the same as the one we had in the cabin,” he 
answered, ‘ ‘ there is no necessity for a veil ; for a prettier or 
a more modest-looking girl is not often fallen in with. 
What she wanted exactly, is more than I can tell you, as 
she spoke Italian altogether ; and ‘ miladi ’ had the interview 
pretty much to herself. But her good looks seem to have 
taken with this old bachelor, the justice of the peace, who 
eyes her as if he had an inclination to open his mind to the 
beauty. Ask him in Italian, Griffin, what mare’s nest he 
has run foul of now.” 


Mfng=an&=Mtng 


227 


“You seem to have found something to look at besides 
the Minerva, Signor Podesta,” observed Griffin, in an un- 
dertone. “ I hope it is not Venus.” 

“ Cospetto ! ” grunted Vito Viti, nudging his neighbor, 
the vice-governatore, and nodding towards the other boat ; 
“ if that be not little Ghita, who came into our island like a 
comet, and went out of it — to what shall I liken her sudden 
and extraordinary disappearance, Signor Andrea ? ” 

“To that of Te Feu-Follet, or ze Ving-y-Ving, ” put in 
Griffin, who, now he had got the two functionaries fairly 
afloat, spared none of the jokes that come so easy and 
natural to a man-of-war’s man. “She went out, too, in an 
‘extraordinary disappearance,’ and perhaps the lady and the 
lugger went out together. ’ ’ 

Vito Viti muttered an answer ; for by this time he had 
discovered that he was a very different personage on board 
the Proserpine, from what the other had appeared to con- 
sider him while in his native land. He might have ex- 
pressed himself aloud, indeed ; but, at that instant, a column 
of smoke glanced out of the bow port of the Minerva, a 
yellow flag was shown aloft, and then came the report of th(5 
signal-gun. 

It has been said that vessels of war of four different na- 
tions were at that time lying in the Bay of Naples. Nelson 
had come in but a short time previously, with seventeen 
ships of the line ; and he found several more of his country- 
men lying there. This large force had been assembled to 
repel an expected attack on the island of Minorca ; and it 
was still kept together in an tmcertainty of the future move- 
ments of the enemy. A Russian force had come out of the 
Black Sea, to act against the French, bringing with it a 
squadron of the Grand Signor ; thus presenting to the world 
the singular spectacle of the followers of Luther, devotees 
of the Greek Church, and disciples of Mohammed, uniting 
in defence of “our rights, our firesides, and our altars!” 
To these vessels must be added a small squadron of ships 
of the countiy- ; making a mixed force of four different 
ensigns, that was to witness the melancholy scene we are 
about to relate. 


22 $ 




The yellow flag and the signal-gun brought everything in 
the shape of duty to a stand-still in all the fleets. The 
hoarse commands ceased, the boatswains and their mates 
laid aside their calls, and the echoing midshipmen no longer 
found orders to repeat. The seamen gathered to the sides 
of their respective vessels ; every part glistened with ex- 
pectant eyes ; the booms resembled clusters of bees sus- 
pended from the boughs of a forest ; and the knight-heads, 
tafifails, gangways, and stretchers of the rigging, were 
garnished with those whom bright buttons, glazed hats, epau- 
lettes, and dark-blue dresses, denoted to belong to the privi- 
leged classes of a ship. Notwithstanding all this curiosity, 
nothing like the feeling which is apt to be manifested at 
an exhibition of merited punishment was visible in a single 
countenance. An expression resembling a sombre gloom 
appeared to have settled on all those grim warriors of the 
deep ; English, Russian, Neapolitan, or Turk, apparently 
reserving all his sympathies for the sufferer, rather than for 
the majesty of justice. Still, no murmur arose, no sign 
of resistance was made, no look of remonstrance given. 
The unseen mantle of authority covered all ; and these 
masses of discontented men submitted, as we bow to what 
is believed to be the fiat of fate. The deep-seated and 
unresisting habit of discipline suppressed complaint ; but 
there was a general conviction that some act was about to 
be committed, that it were better for humanity and justice 
should not be done ; or, if done at all, that it needed more 
of form, greater deliberation, and a fairer trial, to be so 
done as to obtain the commendation of men. The Turks 
alone showed apathy ; though all showed submission. These 
subjects of destiny looked on coldly, though even among 
them a low rumor had passed that a malign influence pre- 
vailed in the fleet ; and that a great and proud spirit had 
got to be mastered by the passion that so often deprives 
heroes of their self-command and independence. 

Ghita ceased her prayers, as the report of the gun broke 
rudely on her ears, and with streaming eyes, she even dared 
to look towards the frigate. Raoul, and all the rest, bent 
their gaze in the same direction. The sailors, among them. 




229 


saw the rope at the fore-yard-arm move, and then heads 
rose slowly above the hammock-cloths, when the prisoner 
and his attendant priest were visible, even to their feet. 

The unfortunate Caraccioli, as has been said, had nearly 
numbered his threescore and ten years, in the regular course 
of nature ; and his bare head now showed the traces of 
time. He wore no coat ; and his arms were bound behind 
his back, at the elbows, leaving just motion enough to the 
hands to aid him in the slighter offices about his own person. 
His neck was bare, and the fatal cord was tightened suffi- 
ciently around it to prevent accidents, constantly admonish- 
ing its victim of its revolting office. 

A low murmur arose among the people in the boats, as 
this spectacle presented itself to their eyes; and many 
bowed their heads in prayer. The condemned man caught 
a ray of consolation from this expression of sympathy ; and 
he looked around him, an instant, with something like a 
return of those feelings of the world, which it had been his 
effort and his desire totally to eradicate, since he had taken 
leave of Ghita, and learned that his last request — that of 
changing his mode of punishment — had been denied. That 
was a fearful moment for one like Don Francesco Caraccioli, 
who had passed a long life in the midst of the scene that 
surrounded him ; illustrious by birth, affluent, honored for 
his services, and accustomed to respect and deference. 
Never had the glorious panorama of the bay appeared 
more lovely than it did at that instant, when he was about 
to quit it forever, by a violent and disgraceful death. From 
the purple mountains — the cerulean void above him — the 
blue waters over which he seemed already to be suspended 
— and the basking shores, rich in their towns, villas, and 
vines, his eye turned towards the world of ships, each alive 
with its masses of living men. A glance of melancholy 
reproach was cast upon the little flag that was just waving 
at the mizzen-mast-head of the Foudroyant ; and then it fell 
on the carpet of faces beneath, that seemed fairly to change 
the surface of the smooth sea into an arena of human 
countenances. His look was steady, though his soul was 
in a tumult. Ghita was recognized by her companion, and 


230 




by her dress. He moved towards the edge of his narrow 
scaffolding, endeavored to stretch forth his arms, and blessed 
her, again, aloud. The poor girl dropped on her knees, in 
the bottom of the boat, bowed her head, and in that humble 
attitude did she remain until all was over ; not daring once 
to look upwards again. 

“Son,” said the priest, “this is a moment when the earth, 
and its feelings, must be forgotten.” 

‘ ‘ I know it, father, ’ ’ answered the old man, his voice 
trembling with emotion, for his sensations were too power- 
ful, too sublime, even, for the degrading passion of fear ; 
‘ ‘ but never before did this fair piece of the creation seem so 
lovely in my eyes, as now, when I am about to quit it for 
the last time.” 

“ Took beyond this scene, into the long vista of eternity, 
son ; there thou wilt behold that which mocks at all human, 
all earthly means. I fear that our time is but short ; hast 
thou aught yet to say, in the flesh ? ” 

“ Tet it be known, holy priest, that in my dying moment 
I prayed for Nelson, and for all who have been active in 
bringing me to this end. It is easy for the fortunate, and 
the untempted, to condemn ; but he is wiser, as he is safer, 
who puts more reliance on the goodness of God than on his 
own merits. ’ ’ 

A ray of satisfaction gleamed athwart the pale counte- 
nance of the priest, — a sincerely pious man, or fear of per- 
sonal consequences might have kept him aloof from such a 
scene, — and he closed his eyes, while he expressed his grati- 
tude to God, in the secret recesses of his own spirit. Then 
he turned to the prince, and spoke cheeringly. 

“Son,” he said, “if thou quittest life with a due depen- 
dence on the Son of God, and in this temper towards thy 
fellow-creatures, of all this living throng, thou art he who 
is most to be envied ! Address thy soul in prayer once more 
to Him who thou feelest can alone serve thee. ’ ’ 

Caraccioli, aided by the priest, knelt on the scaffold ; for 
the rope hung loose enough to permit that act of humilia- 
tion, and the other bent at his side. 

“I wish to God Nelson had nothing to do with this!’* 


Mino=*ant)^Min^ 


231 


muttered CufFe, as he turned away his face, inadvertently 
bending his eyes on the Foudroyant, nearly under the stem 
of which ship his gig lay. There, in the stern- walk, stood 
the lady, already mentioned in this chapter, a keen spectator 
of the awful scene. No one but a maid was near her, how- 
ever ; the men of her companionship not being of moods 
stern enough to be at her side. CufFe turned away from 
this sight, in still stronger disgust ; and just at that moment 
a common cry arose from the boats, booking round, he was 
just in time to see the unfortunate Caraccioli dragged from 
his knees by the neck, until he rose, by a steady man-of-war 
pull, to the end of the yard ; leaving his companion alone 
on the scaffold, lost in prayer. There was a horrible minute, 
of the struggles between life and death, when the body, so 
late the tenement of an immortal spirit, hung, like one of 
the jewel-blocks of the ship, dangling passively at the end 
of the spar, as insensible as the wood which sustained it 




CHAPTER XV. 

“Sleep, sleep, thou sad one, on the sea! 

The wash of waters lulls thee now ; 

His arm no more will pillow thee. 

Thy hand upon his brow. 

He is not near, to hurt thee, or to save : 

The ground is his— the sea must be thy grave.” 

Dana. 

A long summer’s evening did the body of Fran- 
cesco Caraccioli hang suspended at the yard- 
arm of the Minerva ; a revolting spectacle to his 
countrymen, and to most of the strangers who 
had been the witnesses of his end. Then was it lowered 
into a boat, its feet loaded with a double-headed shot, and it 
was carried out a league or more into the bay, and cast into 
the sea. The revolting manner in which it rose to the 
surface and confronted its destroyers, a fortnight later, has 
passed into history ; and, to this day, forms one of the 
marvels related by the ignorant and wonder-loving of that 
region.’ As for Ghita, she disappeared, no one knew how ; 

* Singular as was this occurrence, and painful as it must have 
proved to the parties to the execution, it is one of the simplest conse- 
quences of natural causes. All animal matter swells in water previ- 
ously to turning corrupt. A body that has become of twice its 
natural size, in this manner, as a matter of course, displaces twice the 
usual quantity of water : the weight of the mass remaining the same. 
Most human frames floating, in their natural state, so long as the 
lungs are inflated with air, it follows that one in this condition would 
bring up with it as much weight in iron, as made the difference be- 
tween its own gravity and that of the water it displaced. The up- 
right attitude of Caraccioli was owing to the shot attached to the feet ; 
of which, it is also probable, one or two had become loosened. 


232 





233 


Vito Viti and his companions being too much absorbed with 
the scene to note the tender and considerate manner in whieh 
Raoul rowed her off from a spectacle that could but be re- 
plete with horrors, to one so situated. Cuffe, himself, stood 
but a few minutes longer ; but he directed his boat’s crew to 
pull alongside of the Proserpine. In half-an-hour after the 
execution took place, this frigate was aweigh, and then she 
was seen standing out of the bay, before a light air, covered 
with canvas from her truck to her hammock-cloths. I^eav- 
ing her for the moment, we will return to the party in the skiff. 

Neither Carlo Giuntotardi nor Ghita Caraccioli — for so 
we must continue to call the girl, albeit the name is much 
too illustrious to be borne by one of her humble condition 
in life — but, neither of these two had any other design, in 
thus seeking out the unfortunate admiral, than to perform 
what each believed to be a duty. As soon as the fate of 
Caraccioli was decided, both were willing to return to their 
old position in life ; not that they felt ashamed to avow their 
connection with the dead, but because they were quite 
devoid of any of that worldly ambition, which renders rank 
and fortune necessary to happiness. 

When he left the crowd of boats, Raoul pulled towards 
the rocks which bound the shores of the bay, near the 
gardens of Portici. This was a point sufficiently removed 
from the common anchorage to be safe from observation ; 
and yet so near as to be reached in considerably less than 
an hour. As the light boat proceeded, Ghita gradually 
regained her composure. She dried her eyes, and looked 
around her inquiringly, as if wondering whither their com- 
panion was taking them. 

“ I will not ask you, Raoul, why you are here, at a 
moment like this, and whence you have come,” she said; 
“but I may ask whither you are now carrying us? Our 
home is at St. Agata, on the heights above Sorrento, and 
on the other side of the bay. We come there, annually, to 
pass a month with my mother’s sister, who asks this much 
of our love.” 

“If I did not know all this, Ghita, I would not, and 
could not be here. I have visited the cottage of your aunt 


234 




this day ; followed you to Naples, heard of the admiral’s 
trial and sentence, understood how it would affect your feel- 
ings, traced you on board the English admiral’s ship, and 
was in waiting as you found me ; having first contrived to 
send away the man who took you off. All this has come 
about as naturally as the feeling which has induced me to 
venture again into the lion’s mouth.” 

“ The pitcher that goes often to the well, Raoul, gets 
broken at last,” said Ghita, a little reproachfully, though it 
surpassed her power to prevent the tones of tenderness from 
mingling with her words. 

“You know all, Ghita. After months of perseverance, 
and a love such as man seldom felt before, you deliberately 
and coldly refused to be my wife ; nay, you have deserted 
Monte Argentaro, purposely to get rid of my importunities ; 
for there I could go with the lugger, at any moment ; and 
have come here, upon this bay, crowded with the English 
and other enemies of France, fancying that I would not dare 
to venture hither. Well, you see with what success ; for 
neither Nelson nor his two-deckers can keep Raoul Yvard 
from the woman he loves, let him be as victorious and skill- 
ful as he may ! ” 

The sailor had ceased rowing, to give vent to his feelings 
in this speech, neither of the two colloquists regarding the 
presence of Giuntotardi any more than if he had been a 
part of themselves. This indifference to the fact that a 
third person was a listener proceeded from habit, the worthy 
scholar and religionist being usually too abstracted to attend 
to concerns as light as love and the youthful affections. 
Ghita was not surprised either at the reproaches of her 
suitor or at his perseverance ; and her conscience told her 
he uttered but the truth, in attributing to her the motives 
he had, in urging her uncle to make their recent change of 
residence ; for, while a sense of duty had induced her to 
quit the towers, her art was not sufficient to suggest the 
expediency of going to any other abode than that which 
she was accustomed to inhabit periodically, and about which 
Raoul knew, from her own innocent narrations, nearly as 
much as she knew herselfi 




235 


“I can say no more than I have said already,” the 
thoughtful girl answered, after Raoul had begun again to 
row. “ It is better, on every account, that we should part. 
I cannot change my country ; nor can you desert that glori- 
ous republic, of which you feel so proud. I am an Italian, 
and you are French ; while, more than all, I worship my 
God, while you believe in the new opinions of your own 
nation. Here are causes enough for separation, surely, 
however favorably and kindly we may happen to think of 
each other in general.” 

“Tell me not any more of the heart of an Italian girl, 
and of her readiness to fly to the world’s end with the man 
of her choice ! ” exclaimed Raoul, bitterly. “ I can find a 
thousand girls in Tanguedoc, who would make the circuit 
of the earth yearly, rather than be separated a day from the 
seamen they have chosen for their husbands. ’ ’ 

“Then look among the girls of Tanguedoc for a wife,” 
answered Ghita, with a smile so melancholy that it con- 
tradicted her words. ‘ ‘ Better to take one of your own 
nation and opinions, Raoul, than risk your happiness with a 
stranger, who might not answer all your hopes, when you 
came to know her better.” 

“We will not talk further of this, now, dearest Ghita; 
my first care must be to carry you back to the cottage of 
your aunt ; unless, indeed, you will at once embark in Te 
Feu-Follet, and return to the towers ? ’ ’ 

“Te Feu-Follet! she is hardly here, in the midst of 
a fleet of her enemies I Remember, Raoul, your men will 
begin to complain, if you place them too often in such 
risks to gratify your own wishes.” 

“Peste! I keep them in good humor by rich prizes. 
They have been successful ; and that which makes yonder 
Nelson popular, and a great man, makes Raoul Yvard popu- 
lar, and a great man also, in his little way. My crew is like 
its captain ; it loves adventures and it loves success. 

“ I do not see the lugger ; among a hundred ships, there 
is no sign of yours? ” 

“The Bay of Napoli is large, Ghita,” returned Raoul, 
laughing; “andTe Feu-Follet takes but little room. See, 


236 




yonder vaisseaux-de-ligne appear trifling among these noble , 
mountains, and on this wide gulf ; you cannot expect my 
little lugger to make much show. We are small, Ghita mia, j 
if not insignificant ! ” ; 

“Still, where there are so many vigilant eyes, there is | 
always danger, Raoul ! Besides, a lugger is an unusual rig, 
as you have owned to me yourself. ’ ’ 

“Not here, among all these Eastern craft. I have always ^ 
found, if I wished to be unnoticed, it was best to get into a 
crowd ; whereas, he who lives in a village, lives in open day- ; 
light. But we will talk of these things when alone, Ghita ; 
yonder fisherman is getting ready to receive us. ” 

By this time the skiff was near the shore, where a little 
yawl was anchored, containing a solitary fisherman. This 
man was examining them as they approached ; and, recog- 
nizing Raoul, he was gathering in his lines, and preparing to 
raise his grapnel. In a few minutes the two craft lay side i 
by side ; and then, though not without difiiculty, owing to a 
very elaborate disguise, Ghita recognized Ithuel Bolt. A 
very few words sufficed to let the American into all that it ; 
was necessary he should know, when the whole party made ! 
its arrangements to depart. The skiff which Raoul, having 
found it lying on the beach, had made free with without 
leave, he anchored, in the full expectation that its right 1 
owner might find it some day or other ; while its cargo was 
transferred to the yawl, which was one of the lugger’s own 
attendants. The latter was a light, swift-pulling little boat, ! 
admirably constructed, and fit to live in a sea-way ; requir- 
ing moreover but two good oars, one of which Raoul under- 1 
took to pull himself, while Ithuel managed the other. In 1 
five minutes after the junction was made the party was mov- 
ing again from the land, in a straight line across the bay, 
steering in the direction of its southern cape, and proceed- , 
ing with the steady, swift movement of men accustomed to 
the toil. 

There are few portions of the sea in which a single ship I 
or boat is an object of so little notice as the Bay of Naples. 
This is true of all times and seasons ; the magnificent scale i 
on which nature has created her panorama, rendering ordi- 




237 


nary objects of comparative insignificance ; while the constant 
movement, the fruit of a million of souls thronging around 
its teeming shores, covered it in all directions with boats, 
almost as the streets of a town are crowded with pedestrians. 
The present occasion, too, was one likely to set everything 
in motion ; and Raoul judged rightly when he thought him- 
self less likely to be observed in such a scene, than on a 
smaller and less frequented water. As a matter of course, 
while near the mole, on the common anchorage, it was neces- 
sary to pass amid a floating throng ; but, once beyond the 
limits of this crowd, the size of the bay rendered it quite easy 
to avoid unpleasant collisions, without any apparent effort ; 
while the passage of a boat, in any direction, was an occur- 
rence too common to awaken distrust. One would think no 
more of questioning a craft that was encountered, even in the 
centre of that spacious bay, than he would think of inquiring 
about the stranger met in the market-place. All this both 
Raoul and Ithuel knew and felt ; and once in motion, in 
their yawl, they experienced a sense of security, that, for 
the four or five previous hours, had not always existed. 

By this time, the sun was low, though it was possible, as 
Raoul perceived, to detect the speck that was still swinging 
at the Minerva’s fore-yard-arm ; a circumstance to which the 
young man, with considerate feeling, refrained from advert- 
ing. The Proserpine had been some time in motion, stand- 
ing out of the fleet under a cloud of canvas, but with an air 
so light as to permit the yawl to gain on her, though the 
heads of both were turned in the same direction. In this 
manner, mile after mile was passed, until darkness came. 
Then the moon arose, rendering the bay less distinct, it is 
true, but scarcely more mysterious or more lovely, than in 
the hours of stronger light. The gulf, indeed, forms an ex- 
ception in this particular to the general rule, by the extent 
of its shores, the elevation of its mountains, the beauty of 
its water — ^which has the deep tint of the ocean off sound- 
ings — and the softness of the atmosphere ; lending to it, by 
day, all the mellowed and dreamy charms that other scenes 
borrow from the illusions of night, and the milder brilliance 
of the secondary planets. Raoul did not exert himself at 


238 




the oar ; and, as he sat aft, his companion was obliged to 
take the stroke from his movement. It was so pleasant 
to have Ghita with him, on his own element, that he never 
hurried himself while in the enjoyment of her society. The 
conversation, it will readily be imagined, was not lively ; but 
the saddened melancholy of Ghita’ s voice, as she occasionally 
hazarded a remark of her own, or answered one of his ques- 
tions, sounded sweeter, in his ears, than the music of the 
ships’ bands that was now wafted to them across the water. 

As the evening advanced, the land-breeze increased, and 
the Proserpine gradually gained upon the boat. When the 
latter was about two thirds of the distance across the bay, 
the frigate caught the stronger current that came down 
athwart the campagna, between Vesuvius and the mountains 
behind Castel-a-Mare, when she drove ahead fast. Her sails, 
as seamen express it, were all asleep ; or swelled outward, 
without collapsing ; and her rate of sailing was between five 
and six miles in the hour. This brought them up with the 
boat, hand-over-hand, as it is called ; and Ghita, at Raoul’s 
request, put the helm aside, in order that they might get 
out of the way of the huge body that was approaching. 
It would seem that there was some design, on the part of 
the ship, in coming so near, for she made a sheer towards 
the yawl, in a way to frighten the timid helmswoman, and 
to induce her to relinquish her hold of the tiller. 

“Fear nothing,’’ called out Griffin, in Italian, “we in- 
tend to offer you a tow. Stand by, and catch the line. 
Heave ! ’’ 

A small rope was thrown; and, falling directly across 
Ithuel’s head, that person could do no less than seize it. 
With all his detestation of the English in general, and of 
this vessel in particular, the man-of-all-work had the labor- 
saving propensity of his countrymen ; and it struck him as 
a good thing to make a “king’s ship ” aid an enemy’s priva- 
teer, by accepting the offer. As he used the line with proper 
dexterity, the yawl was soon towing on the quarter of the 
frigate ; Raoul taking the helm, and giving the boat the 
sheer necessary to prevent her dragging in alongside. This 
was a change so sudden, and so totally unexpected, that 




239 


Ghita murmured her disapprobation, lest it should lead to a 
discovery of the true character of her companions. 

“Fear nothing, dearest,” answered Raoul, “ they cannot 
suspect us ; and we may learn something useful by being 
here. At all events, Fe Feu-FoUet is safe from their designs, 
just at this moment.” 

“Are you boatmen of Capri?” called out Grifi&n, who 
stood on the tafirail of the ship, with Cuffe and the two 
Italians near by ; the first dictating the questions his heu- 
tenant put. 

“S’nore, si,” answered Raoul, adopting the patios of the 
country, as well as he could, and disguising his deep mellow 
voice, by speaking in a high shrill key. ‘ ‘ Boatmen of Cap- 
ri, that have been to Napoli with wine, and have been kept 
out later than we intended by the spectacle at the yard-arm 
of the Minerva. Cospetto ! them signori make no more of 
a prince, than we do of a quail, in the season, on our little 
island. Pardon me, dearest Ghita ; but we must throw dust 
into their eyes.” 

“ Has any strange sail been seen about your island with- 
in the last twenty-four hours?” 

“ The bay is full of strange sail, S’nore ; even the Turks 
coming to see us, since the last trouble with the French.” 

“ Ay ; but the Turks are now your allies, like us Eng- 
lish. Have you seen any other strangers ? ” 

“They tell me, there are ships from the far north, too, 
S’nore, off the town. Russians, I believe, they call them.” 

“ They, too, are allies ; but I mean enemies. Has there 
not been a lugger seen off your island, within the last day 
or two — a lugger of the French ? ” 

“Si— si— I know what you mean, now, S’nore; there 
has been a vessel like that you mention, off the island ; for 
I saw her with my own eyes — si — si. It was about the 
twenty-third hour, last evening — a lugger, and we all said 
she must be French, by her wicked looks.” 

“Raoul ! ” said Ghita, as if reproaching him for an in- 
discretion. 

“This is the true way to befog them,” answered the 
young man ; ‘ ‘ they have certainly heard of us ; and by 


240 




seeming to tell a little truth frankly, it will give me an 
opportunity of telling more untruth.” 

“ Ah, Raoul, it is a sad life that renders untruths neces- 
sary ! ” 

“It is the art of war, dearest; without it, we should 
soon be outwitted by these knaves of English. Si — si, 
S’nori ; we all said just that, concerning her looks and 
rig.” 

“Will you sheer your boat alongside, friend,” inquired 
Griffin, “and come on board of us? We have a ducat 
here, that wants an owner ; I fancy it will fit your pocket 
as well as another’s. We will haul you ahead abreast of 
the gangway.” 

“ O ! Raoul, do not think of this rash act, ’ ’ whispered 
Ghita ; ‘ ‘ the vice-govematore, or the podest^, will recollect 
you ; and then all will be lost ! ’ ’ 

“ Fear nothing, Ghita ! a good cause and a keen wit will 
carry me through ; while the least hesitation might, indeed, 
ruin us. These English first ask, and then take without 
asking, if you tell them no. Corpo di Bacco ! who ever 
heard, either, of a lazzarone’s refusing a ducat ! ” 

Raoul then whispered a few words to Ithuel, when, the 
boat being by this time far enough ahead, he gave it a sheer 
alongside of the ship, seized a man-rope, and went up the 
cleets as actively as a cat. It is certain, not a soul on board 
that fine fngate had the least suspicion of the true character 
of the individual who now confidently trod her quarter- 
deck. The young man, himself, loved the excitement of 
such an adventure, and he felt the greater confidence in his 
impunity, from the circumstance that there was no other 
light than that of the moon. The sails, too, cast their 
shadows upon deck ; and then, neither of the two Italians 
was a wizard at detecting impostors, as he knew by ex- 
perience. 

The watch was set for the night, and Winchester, who 
had returned to duty, held the trumpet, while Griffin had 
no other immediate office but to interpret. Two or three 
midshipmen were lounging about the quarter-deck ; here 
and there a seaman was on the look-out, at the halyards, 


Mtna=ani>=Mtn3 


241 


or on a cat-head ; some twenty or thirty old sea-dogs were 
pacing the gangways or the forecastle, with their arms 
crossed, and hands stuck in their jackets ; and a quick-eyed, 
active quartermaster stood near the man at the wheel, 
conning the ship. The remainder of the watch had stowed 
themselves between the guns, or among the booms, in read- 
iness to act, but in truth dozing. Cuffe, Grifiin, and the 
two Italians, descended from the tafifail, and awaited the 
approach of the supposed lazzarone, or boatman of Capri, 
as he was now believed to be, near the stem of the vessel. 
By an arrangement among themselves, Vito Viti became the 
spokesman ; Griffin translating to the captain all that passed 
in an under-tone as soon as it was uttered. 

“Come hither, friend,” commenced the podest^, in a 
patronizing, but somewhat lofty manner; “this generous 
and noble English captain. Sir Koofife, desires me to present 
you with a ducat, by way of showing that he asks no more 
of you than he is willing to pay for. A ducat * is a great 
deal of money, as you know ; and good pay merits good 
services. ’ ’ 

“S’nore, si; your Eccellenza says the tmth ; a good 
ducat certainly deserves good services.” 

“ Bene. Now, tell these signori all you know about that 
said lugger; where you saw her; when you saw her, 
and what she was about. Keep your mind clear, and tell 
us one thing at a time.” 

“S’nore, si. I will keep my mind clear, and tell you no 
more than one thing at a time. I believe, Eccellenza, I am 
to begin with where I saw her : then I ’m to tell you when 
I saw her ; after which, you wish to know what she was 
about. I believe this is the way you put it, S’nore ? ” 

“Excellently well; answer in that order, and you will 
make yourself understood. But first, tell me, — do all the 
natives of Capri speak the same sort of Italian as you do 
yourself, friend?” 

^ The silver ducat of Naples is worth 80 grani, or rather less than 
80 cents ; the golden ducat, or sequin, of Italy, Holland, Turkey, 
etc., is worth a trifle more than two American dollars. Raoul was 

offered the former. 

16 


242 




“S’nore, si — though my mother having been a French- 
woman, they tell me that I have caught a little from her. 
We all get something from our mothers, Kccellenza ; and 
it ’s a pity we could not keep more of it.” 

“True, friend; but now for the lugger. Remember that 
honorable signori will hear what you say ; therefore, for 
your own credit, speak to the point ; and speak nothing 
but truth, for the love of God. ’ ’ 

“Then, S’nore, first as to where I saw her— does your 
Kccellenza mean where I was at the time, or where the 
lugger was?” 

“Where the lugger was, fellow. Dost think Sir Koofie 
cares where thou spent thy day ! ” 

“Well, then, Kccellenza, the lugger was near the Island 
of Capri, on the side next the Mediterranean, which, you 
know, S’nore, is on the side opposite to the bay, and near, 
as might be, abreast of the house of Giacomo Alberti ; 
does your Kccellenza know anything of the house I mean? ” 

“Not I; but tell your story as if I knew all about it. 
It is these particulars which give value to a tale. How far 
from the nearest land? Mention that fact, by all means, 
if you happen to remember.” 

“ Well, Kccellenza, could the distance be measured, now, 
I think it would prove to be about as far — not quite, S’nore, 
but, I say, about — about as far as from the said Giacomo’s 
largest fig-tree, to the vines of Giovanni, his wife’s cousin. 
Si — I think, just about that distance.” 

“ And how far may that be, friend? Be precise, as much 
may depend on your answers. ’ ’ 

“S’nore, that may be a trifle farther than it is from the 
church to the top of the stairs that lead to Ana Capri.” 

‘ ‘ Cospetto ! Thou wilt earn thy ducat speedily, at this 
rate ! Tell us, at once, in miles ; was the lugger one, two, 
six, or twenty miles from your island at the time thou 
speak’ St of ? ” 

“ Kccellenza, you bid me speak of the iimey in the second 
place ; after I had told you of the where^ in the first place. 
I wish to do whatever will give you pleasure, S’nore.” 

“Neighbor Vito Viti,” put in the vice-goveruatore, “it 




243 


may be well to remember that this matter is not to be 
recorded as you would put on file the confessions of a thief ; 
it may be better to let the honest boatman tell his story in 
his own way.” 

‘ ‘ Ay, now the veechy has set to work, I hope we shall get 
the worth of our ducat, ’ ’ observed Cufie, in English. 

” S’nori,” rejoined Raoul, ” it shall be just as your Eccel- 
lenzi say. The lugger you speak of was off the island last 
evening, steering towards Ischia ; which place she must 
have reached in the course of the night, as there was a good 
land-wind firom the twenty-third to the fifth hour.” 

“This agrees with our account as to the time and place,” 
said Griffin ; ‘ ‘ but not at all as to the direction the corsair 
was steering. We hear she was rather rounding the south- 
ern cape for the Gulf of Salerno.” 

Raoul started, and gave thanks, mentally, that he had 
come on board, as this statement showed that his enemies 
had received only too accurate information of his recent 
movements. He had hopes, however, of being able yet to 
change their intentions, and of putting them on a wrong 
scent. 

“S’nori,” he said, “I should like to know who it is that 
mistakes southeast for northwest. None of our pilots or 
boatmen, I should think, could ever make so great a blun- 
der. S’nori, you are an officer, and understand such 
things ; and I will just ask you, if Ischia does not lie north- 
west of Capri? ” 

“Of that fact there can be no manner of doubt,” returned 
Griffin; “it is equally true that the Gulf of Salerno lies 
southeast of both — ” 

“There, now!” interrupted Raoul, with a well-acted 
assumption of vulgar triumph; “I knew your Eccellenza, 
when you came to look into it, would see the folly of saying 
that a vessel which was standing from Capri towards Ischia, 
was going on any other course than northwest ! 

“But this is not the question, amico. We all under- 
stand the bearings of these islands, which are the b^rinp 
of the whole coast, down hereaway ; but the question is, 
which way the lugger was steering ? ” 


244 




“I thought I had said, Kccellenza, that she was heading 
across towards Ischia,” answered Raoul, with an air of 
obtuse innocence. 

“ If you do, you give an account exactly different from 
that which has been sent to the admiral by the good bishop 
of your own island. May I never eat another of his own 
quails, if I think he would deceive us ; and it is not easy to 
suppose a man hke him does not know north from south.” 

Raoul inwardly muttered a malediction on all priests; 
a class of men which, rightly enough, he believed to be 
united in their hostility to France. But it would not do to 
express this, in his assumed character ; and he affected to 
listen, as one of his class ought to give ear to a fact that 
came from his spiritual father. 

“North from south, Kccellenza! Monsignore knows a 
great deal more than that, if the truth were said ; though, 
I suppose, these noble signori are acquainted with the right 
reverend father’s great infirmity ? ” 

“Not we — none of us, I fancy, ever had the honor to be 
in his company. Surely, fellow, your bishop is a man of 
truth ? ’ ’ 

“ Truth ! Yes, Kccellenza, so true is he that if he were 
to tell me that the thing I saw myself had not and could 
not happen, I should rather believe Monsignore than believe 
my own eyes. Still, Signori, eyes are something ; and as 
the right reverend father has none, or what are as bad as 
none, for any use they can be in looking at a vessel half a 
mile off, he may not always see what he thinks he sees. 
When Monsignore tells us that so and so is gospel, we all 
believe it, for we know the time has been when he could 
read ; but we never think of going to his door to ask which 
way a ship is steering, having the use of our own senses.” 

“ Can this fellow tell us the truth, Griffin? ” asked Cuffe, 
a good deal mystified by Raoul’s artifice, and his assumed 
simplicity. ‘ ‘ If so, we shall be going exactly on the wrong 
scent, by hauling round Campanella, and running into the 
Gulf of Salerno. The French hold Gaeta yet, and it is quite 
likely that Master Yvard may wish to keep a friendly port 
open under his lee 1 ” 




245 


“You forget, Captain Cuffe, that his lordship has sent a 
light cruiser already up that way ; and I,e Feu-Follet would 
hardly dare to show herself near one of our regular fel- 
lows — ” 

“ Umph ! I don’t know that, Mr. Griffin ; I don’t exactly 
know that. The Proserpine is a ‘regular fellow,’ after a 
fashion, at least ; and the Few-Folly has dared to show her- 
self to her. Jack-o’-Tantem ? D n me, Griffin, but I 

think she is well named, now. I ’d rather chase a jack-o’- 
lantern in the Island of Sicily, than be hunting after such 
a chap : first, he ’s here ; then, he ’s there ; and presently 
he ’s nowhere. As for the sloop, she ’s gone south, at my 
suggestion, to look into the bays along the Calabrian coast. 
I told Nelson I wanted another ship ; for, just so certain 

as this Rule — Raw-owl — ^what the d 1 do you call the 

pirate, Griffin?” 

“ Raoul, Captain Cufie ; Raoul Yvard is his name. ’Tis 
thoroughly French. Raoul means Rodolph.” 

“Well, I told Nelson if this lad should get to dodging 
round one of the islands, we might as well set about play- 
ing ‘ puss in the corner,’ by the week, as to think of driving 
him off the land, for a fair chase. He works his boat like 
a stage-coach turning into an inn-yard ! ’ ’ 

“ I wonder my lord did not think of this, and give us a 
sloop or two to help us.” 

“ Catch Nel. at that ! He might send one Englishman to 
look after two Frenchmen ; but he ’d never dream of sending 
two Englishmen to look after one Frenchman.” 

“But this is not a fighting matter, sir, only a chase ; and 
one Frenchman will run faster than two Englishmen, any 
day of the week.” 

“ Sa-c-r-r-r-e ! ” muttered Raoul, in a tone that he endeav- 
ored to suppress, and which was inaudible to all ears but 
those of Andrea Barrofaldi ; the vice-governatore happen- 
ing to stand nearer his person just at that moment than any 
other of the party. 

“Very true,” answered Cuffe; “but so it is. We are 
sent alone ; and if this Few-Folly get in between Ischia 
and Procida, it will be easier to unearth the fox than to 


246 


Mtno*'ant):»XP(Ilfna 


drive her out single-handed. As for any more boat service 
against her, I suppose you ’ve all had enough of that? ” 

“Why, sir, I rather think the people would be shy,’* 
answered GrifiSn, with a little hesitation of manner, and yet 
with the directness and simplicity of a truly brave man. 
“We must let them get over the last brush before they are 
depended on much for any new set-to of that sort.” 

“Bon!” muttered Raoul, quite unconscious he was 
overheard. 

“ Nevertheless, we must catch this fellow, if he wear out 
our shoes in the chase.” 

All this time Andrea Barrofaldi and Vito Viti were pro- 
foundly ignorant of what was passing between the two offi- 
cers, though Raoul listened eagerly, and so well understood 
every syllable they uttered. Until this moment the vice- 
governatore had been rather indifferent and inattentive as 
to what occurred ; but the two exclamations of Raoul 
awakened a vague distrust in his mind, which, while it had 
no direct object, was certainly pregnant with serious con- 
sequences to the Frenchman himself. Deep mortification 
at the manner in which they had been duped by this cele- 
brated privateersman, with a desire to absent themselves 
from the island until the edge was a little taken off the ridi- 
cule they both felt they merited, blended with certain long- 
ings to redeem their characters, by assisting in capturing the 
corsair, were the reasons why these two worthies, the dep- 
uty-governor and the podest^, were now on board the Pro- 
serpine. Cuffe had offered them cots in his cabin, and seats 
at his table, in a moment of confidence ; and the offer was 
gladly accepted. Andrea had not been on board the ship 
a day, however, before he became thoroughly convinced of 
his utter uselessness ; a circumstance that added materially 
to the awkwardness of his situation. Dike all well-mean- 
ing and simple-minded men, he had a strong wish to be 
doing ; and day and night he ruminated on the means by 
himself, or discussed them in private dialogues with his 
friend the podest^. Vito Viti frankly admonished him to 
put his faith in Heaven, affirming that something worth 
while would yet turn up in the cruise, to render the enter- 


Mina:*anb*=Ximino 


247 


prise memorable ; it being a habit with the magistrate to 
say an ave or two on all trying occasions, and then trust 
to God. 

“You never knew a miracle, Vice-govematore, ” said Vito 
Viti one day, when they were discussing the matter by 
themselves ; “ you never knew a miracle come to pass that 
another was not close on its heels ; the first being a mere 
preparation for the last, and the last always proving to be 
the most remarkable. Now, when Annina Gotti fell off the 
cliffs, it was a miracle she did n’t break her neck ; but, when 
she rolled over into the sea, it was a much greater she 
wasn’t drowned ! ’’ 

“It is better to leave these things to the Church, neigh- 
bor Vito,’’ was the vice-govematore’s answer; “nor do I 
see that there has been any miracle in the affair to start 
with.’’ 

“How! Do you not call it a miracle. Signor Andrea, 
that two such men as you and I should be deceived, as we 
were beyond all doubt, by this knave of a French corsair ? 
I look upon it as so great a miracle, myself, that it ought to 
follow, instead of going before its companion.” 

To this Andrea made an answer suitable to his greater 
information, and the discourse took its usual direction 
towards the means of doing something to relieve the two 
functionaries from the stigma that they mutually felt now 
rested on their sagacity, and that, too, as this sagacity might 
be considered conjointly or individually. 

It was probably owing to this fever of the mind that the 
vice-govematore, a man usually so simple and confiding, was 
now so suspicious and keen-sighted. The presence of Carlo 
Giuntotardi and Ghita had at first struck him as a little out 
of the common way ; and though he could not distinguish 
their faces by the light of the moon, and at the distance at 
which they were placed in the yawl, he fancied from the 
first that his old acquaintances were in the boat the ship 
was towing. Now Andrea Barrofaldi certainly had never 
before that day connected Ghita or her uncle, in any man- 
ner, with Raoul Yvard ; but it was beyond dispute that the 
mysterious manner in which they disappeared from the 


248 




island, had excited some remark ; and in his present state 
of mind, it was not an extraordinary circumstance that he 
had some distant and vague glimmerings of the truth. But 
for Raoul’s indiscreet exclamations, however, nothing prob- 
ably would have come of these indistinct fancies ; and we 
are to refer all that followed to those unguarded out- 
breakings of the Frenchman’s humor, rather than to any 
very clear process of ratiocination on the part of the 
vice-governatore. 

Just as Cuffe made the declaration last recorded, Andrea 
stepped up to the spot where he and Griffin were convers- 
ing apart, and whispered a few words in the ear of the latter. 

“The d 1!’’ exclaimed the lieutenant, in English. 

“If what the vice-governatore tells me be true. Captain 
Cuffe, the work is half done to our hands ! ’ ’ 

“ Ay, the veechy is a good fellow at the bottom, Griffin ; 
though he’ll never burn the Bay of Naples. What has he 
to say now ! ’ ’ 

Griffin led his captain a little aside, and conferred a mo- 
ment with him alone. Orders were then passed to the officer 
of the watch, when Cuffe and his companion went below, 
like men in a hurry. 




CHAPTER XVI. 

** What countryman, I pray ? 

“Of Mantua!” 

“Of Mantua, sir? — marry, God forbid I 
And come to Padua, careless of your life? ” 

Taming of the Shrew. 

D uring the momentous five minutes occupied in 
these private movements, Raoul affected to be gap- 
ing about in vulgar astonishment, examining the 
guns, rigging, ornaments of the quarter-deck etc. ; 
though, in truth, nothing that passed among those near him 
escaped his vigilant attention. He was uneasy at the signs 
of the times, and now regretted his own temerity ; but still 
he thought his incognito must be impenetrable. Tike most 
persons who fancy they speak a foreign language well, he 
was ignorant, too, in how many little things he betrayed 
himself ; the Englishman, cceteris paribus, usually pro- 
nouncing the Italian better than the Frenchman, on ac- 
count of the greater affinity between his native language and 
that of Italy, in what relates to emphasis and sounds. Such 
was the state of mind of our hero then, as he got an intima- 
tion that the captain of the ship wished to see him below. 
Raoul observed as he descended the ladder, to comply with 
what sounded very much like an order, that he was followed 
by the two Elban functionaries. 

The cabin-lamp was trimmed, and the privateersman 
found himself under a strong light, as soon as he had crossed 
the threshold of the apartment. Cuffe and Griffin were 
standing near the table, where the vice-govematore and the 
podesta took their stations also, giving the whole arrange- 
ment a most uncomfortable air of investigation and justice. 


249 


250 


‘(KIl^nas'an^=*XKIl^n0 


For an instant, Raoul wished that it was a portion of the 
Holy Inquisition, rather than the tribunal before which he 
now found himself so unexpectedly arraigned. 

“You must be cool,” said Griffin, as the other moved 
slowly up to the table, maintaining the outward signs of 
steadiness, but cursing in his heart the severe ordeal which 
he felt he was undergoing; “do me the favor to put this 
silk handkerchief about your neck. ’ ’ 

“ S’nore, your Bccellenza is pleased to joke ; we men of 
Capri think little of the nights at this season of the year ; 
still, as it seems to be your wish, I will honor myself so 
much.” 

In that age, a black silk kerchief was the certain mark 
of a military man. The old-fashioned stock had gone out, 
with all but old-fashioned people, and the new-fashioned 
substitute did not make its appearance until many years 
later ; the present usage, indeed, having come in from an 
imitation of the military mania which pervaded Christendom 
at the close of the last general war. Black around the neck, 
properly relieved by the white of the linen, was then deemed 
particularly military ; and even in the ordinary dress, such 
a peculiarity was as certain a sign as the cockade, that the 
wearer bore arms. Raoul knew this, and he felt he was aid- 
ing in unmasking himself, by complying ; but he thought 
there might be greater danger should he refuse to assume 
the kerchief. 

“ Your Bccellenza is making a prince of a very humble 
boatman,” he said, when his neck was fairly enveloped; 
“and my wife will think some great general is coming, when 
I enter the door.” 

“ To help the delusion, friend, wear this also,” continued 
Griffin, throwing the other one of his own undress uniform 
coats, his stature and that of Raoul being very nearly the 
same. 

The true state of the case was now getting to be some- 
what unequivocal ; nevertheless, as steadiness and compliance 
were his only hopes, Raoul did as desired, and stood with 
all his upper man decorated in an Bnglish naval undress 
uniform, while the nether remained h la lazzarone. 


TRIl^na*=an^^TKIl^na 


251 


** What say you now, Vice-governatore ? ’ ’ resumed Griffin ; 
** here are lights, and the dress ! ” 

“I say that this gentleman has done me the honor of 
several visits in my poor residence at Porto Ferrajo,” re- 
turned Andrea ; ‘ ‘ and that never has he been more welcome 
than he is at this moment. Signor Smees, you are a great 
lover of masquerades, and make a carnival of the whole year. 

I trust your distinguished countryman. Sir Cicero, will have 
it in his power to convince these brave Inglese that all is 
done in pure pleasantry and without a crime.” 

‘ ‘ Messieurs, ’ ’ said Raoul, stripping himself of his borrowed 
plumes, “it is too late to feign any longer. If I am Raoul 
Yvard, as you say, I am certainly not Le Feu-Follet.” 

“ Of course, you are aware. Monsieur,” observed Griffin, in 
French, “that you are a prisoner to his Britannic Majesty ? ” 

“Sa Majestd Britannique has not made a conquest equal 
to his success at the Nile,” returned Raoul, ironically ; “but 
he has me in his hands. It is not the first time that I have 
had the honor to be a prisoner of war, and that, too, in one 
of his own ships.” 

“You are not to suppose that such will be your situation, 
now. Monsieur Yvard. We arrest you in a totally different 
character.” 

“ Not as a friend, I trust. Monsieur ; for, I protest, I have 
not the smallest claim to the character ; as witness a short 
interview off Porto Ferrajo, and an interesting incident at 
the mouth of the Golo.” 

“Your taunts may be spared, sir; fortune favored you 
then, we allow ; but now we arrest you as a spy.” 

“Kspion!” repeated Raoul, starting; “that is an office 
I never contemplated. Monsieur, on coming on board your 
ship. You will do me the justice to acknowledge that it 
was only at your own invitation that I came on deck. 
’T would be an infamy to pretend differently.” 

“We will endure the infamy of our acts. Monsieur Yvard. 
No one accuses you of having come on board the Proserpine 
as a spy; but, when an enemy is found rowing about our 
fleet, which is anchored in a hostile bay, and this in a dis- 
guise like yours, it must be a very scrupulous conscience 


252 


1P(Ilino==anb:sMino 


that hesitates to pronounce him a spy, and liable to the 
punishment of one.” 

This was so true, that the unfortunate young man now 
felt the exceeding delicacy of his situation. In coming into 
the bay, he had certainly been led by no other intention 
than to find Ghita ; and yet he could not but confess to him- 
self that he shpuld not have hesitated about profiting, in his 
public character, by any information incidentally obtained. 
He had subjected himself to the severest penalties of mili- 
tary law, by yielding to his passion for Ghita ; and he could 
not discover a single available excuse to plead in mitigation. 

“ What does the poor devil say, Griffin?” asked Cufie, 
who, notwithstanding his determined hostility to all French- 
men, felt regret that so brave an enemy should be reduced 
to so desperate a strait ; “do not bear too hard upon him 
at the first go off. Has he any excuse for his disguise ? ” 

‘ ‘ The usual apology, no doubt, sir — a desire to serve his 
one and undivided republic ! If we should believe all such 
chaps tell us. Captain Cuffe, we might go home and send 
deputies to the National Convention ; if, indeed, they would 
do us the favor to admit them to seats. ’ ’ 

“ Gentlemen,” said Raoul, in English, “ there is no longer 
any occasion for an interpreter between us ; I speak your 
language sufiiciently well to make myself understood.” 

“ I am sorry for your situation, Mr. Yvard,” said Cuffe, 
“and wish, with all my heart, you had fallen into our 
hands in open battle instead of in this irregular way. ’ ’ 

“In which case. Monsieur le Capitaine, Te Feu-Follet 
would have been in your power also ! ” returned Raoul, 
smiling ironically; “but. Messieurs, words are idle now ; I 
am your prisoner, and must take my chance with you. 
There is no necessity, however, for causing others to suffer 
for my indiscretion. I shall esteem it a favor. Messieurs, if 
you will let the good people in the boat alongside pull 
ashore, without molestation. It is getting late, and we 
must now be nearly or quite abeam of the place where they 
wish to land ; which is the Marina Grande of Sorrento.” 

“Do you wish us to understand that your companions are 
not French, Monsieur Yvard ? ” 




253 


Oui, Monsieur le Capitaine ; there is not a Frenchman 
among them, I give you my parole d’honneur.” 

‘ ‘ Of that fact it may be well to satisfy ourselves by an 
examination, Captain Cuffe,” put in Griflan, dryly. 

“I have sent up to beg Mr. Winchester would get these 
people on board — ” 

“There is a young woman in the boat who is unaccus- 
tomed to entering ships,” interrupted Raoul, hastily, “and 
I implore your tenderness in her behalf. Tet the men come 
on board, if you think it necessary ; but the Signorina can 
never climb this frigate’s sides ! ” 

“We will see to that, more especially. Monsieur Yvard, 
as you appear to be so much interested in the lady’s com- 
fort. At present it will be my duty to put you under a 
sentry’s charge, and that it may be done in a way the least 
offensive to yourself, your prison, for the night at least, 
shall be this cabin. Mr. Griffin, give orders to the marine 
officer accordingly.” 

In a few minutes, a soldier was introduced into the for- 
ward cabin, and Raoul was regularly placed under his 
charge. Not till then did the officers return to the quarter- 
deck. All this time Ithuel and his companions in the yawl 
were left to their own reflections, which were anything but 
agreeable. Matters had been conducted so quietly in-board, 
however, that they possessed no clue to what had actually 
occurred ; though Ghita, in particular, was full of forebod- 
ings and apprehensions. The frigate towed them along at a 
rate which, as Raoul said, had brought them quite abreast 
of their landing, and within a league of it : and yet she 
showed no signs of an intention to abate her speed, nor did 
any one appear at the gangway to speak to them. At 
length a hoarse call was heard on deck, and the ship began 
to shorten sail. Her fore-course was hauled up, and the 
spanker was brailed ; then the royals were clewed up and 
furled ; the top-gallant-sails followed ; and presently the 
Proserpine was reduced to her three topsails and jib. All 
this, finished just as Cuffe reappeared on deck, was done by 
the watch, and in about five minutes. As soon as sail was 
thus taken in, the helm was put to port, the ship came up to 


254 




the wind on the starboard tack, and the main-topsail was 
laid to the mast, bringing the yawl under her lee, and 
close alongside of the ship. This manoeuvre was no sooner 
executed than a seaman ran lightly down the vessel’s side, 
and entered the yawl. After examining forward and aft 
he called out, “All right, sir,” and shoved the boat off to a 
little distance from the frigate. The yard- and stay-tackles 
fell, at the next instant were overhauled down, and hooked 
by the man in the boat. The boatswain’s mate, in the 
gangway, piped “ Haul taut ! ” and the slack of the tackle 
was pulled in ; then followed a long, steady blow of the 
call, piping ‘ ‘ Sway away ! ’ ’ and the boat, with all in her, 
rose from the water, and ascended as high as the hammock- 
cloths in the waist, when the stay-tackles took the strain, 
the yard- tackles “eased off,” and the boat was landed in 
the waist of the ship, as gingerly as if it were made of glass, 
and as steadily as if it had no more weight than a seaman’s 
hammock. Ghita uttered a faint scream when she found 
herself rising into the air, and then she hid her face, await- 
ing the result with dread. As for Carlo Giuntotardi, the 
movement aroused him a little from his customary apathy, 
and that was all ; whereas, Ithuel bethought him seriously 
of leaping into the water, and striking out for the land. 
He could swim a league, he thought ; but there was the 
certainty of being followed by boats, and overtaken ; a con- 
sideration that effectually curbed his impatience. It is not 
easy to describe the sensation with which this man found 
himself once more standing on the deck of his old prison, 
with the additional danger of being detected and treated as 
a deserter. It may sound revolting, at the present day, to 
suppose a case in which a foreigner was thrown by violence 
into the military service of a nation, and then was put in 
jeopardy of his life, because he used a privilege of nature 
to fly from such persecution as soon as circumstances placed 
the means in his power. The last age, however, witnessed 
many scenes of similar wrongs ; and, it is to be feared, in 
despite of all the mawkish philanthropy and unmeaning 
professions of eternal peace that it is now the fashion to 
array against the experience of mankind, that the next age 




255 


will present their parallels, unless the good sense of this 
nation infuse into the federal legislative bodies juster notions 
of policy, more extended views of their own duties, and 
more accurate opinions of the conditions of the several 
communities of Christendom, than has marked their laws 
and reasoning for the few past months.* In a word, the 
subject of all these tribulations felt an intimate conviction 
that his rights, legal and moral, would avail him but little 
on the present occasion. Then a man never does wrong, 
even in defence of that which is inherently his due, without 
the secret consciousness that ‘ ‘ Kvil may not be done, that 
good may come of it ; ” and Ithuel had a certain inward 
monitor to remind him that, much as he had in the way of 
justifiable complaint, he had carried the war into the ene- 
my’s country. 

The boat had no sooner touched the deck, than its cargo 
was handed out by the boatswain, who, keeping no watch, 
had not yet turned in ; and who was almost as important a 
functionary on board the Proserpine, as was Vito Viti in the 
town of Porto Ferrajo. He examined each individual, as he 
or she landed, as he called it ; Ghita attracting so much of 
his attention, as completely to eclipse her companions. The 
soft air and manner of the girl appeared so winning, indeed, 
by the light of the moon, which now fell clear upon the 
decks, that all near her, including the officers, submitted to 
very much the same influence. 

“So, so. Master Yvard,” said Cuffe, in English, “if you 
do come into an enemy’s camp incog., it is in reasonably 
good company. That girl is Italian, Winchester ; and she 
even seems modest ! ’’ 

“ Tittle Ghita ! ” exclaimed Vito Viti, “ as I hope one day 
to lie in the bosom of Father Abraham ! Bellissima Ghita, 
what has brought thee here, and in such evil company ? ’ ’ 

Ghita was in tears ; but, uncertain how far Raoul was 
committed, she struggled for self-command, and did succeed 
in suppressing emotions that might otherwise have rendered 

* The question of impressment is now settled forever. The United 
States have now a mortgage on the Canadas to secure the good 
behavior of Great Britain. 


256 




his situation more dangerous. Drying her eyes, she courte- 
sied to the vice-govematore and the podesta, and then an- 
swered the question. 

“Signori,” she said, “it is a relief to meet countrymen, 
and old acquaintances, on board this strange ship ; and I 
look to you for protection. I do not call it strange, or evil 
company, for an orphan niece to be on the water with her 
uncle, and one that has ever been a father to her.” 

‘ ‘ Ah ! sure enough, Vice-governatore, this is Carlo Giun- 
totardi, the uncle ; and the man who dwells so much with 
the saints, even on earth, that he seldom speaks to a sinner. 
But thou knowest, little Ghita, that one of thy watermen is 
no less a person than Raoul Yvard, the wickedest corsair 
that sails out of France, and the pest and persecution of the 
whole Italian coast ? Did the Church condescend to notice 
such an unbelieving republican, it would be to command 
all its faithful to unite in their prayers for his destruction.” 

“ Raoul Yvard ! ” repeated Ghita, with sufficient aston- 
ishment in her manner to satisfy any reasonable amount of 
wonder, on the part of the other. ‘ ‘ Are you certain. Signor 
Podesta, of the truth of what you say ? ’ ’ 

“As certain as the confession of the party himself can 
make us. ’ ’ 

“ Confession, Signore ! ” 

‘ ‘ Si, bella Ghita, confession ; your boatman — ^your man 
of Capri — your lazzarone, confesses himself to be neither 
more nor less than the commander of that worker of 
iniquity, Fe Feu-Follet.” 

“Does Fe Feu-Follet do more than other cruisers of the 
enemy?” but Ghita felt she was getting to be indiscreet, 
and she ceased. 

“ I do believe, Winchester,” said Cuffe, “that this is the 
very girl, and yonder is the very old man, who came into 
Nelson’s cabin, to-day, with something to say about the 
poor prince who was executed this afternoon ! ” 

“What could such people have in common with the un- 
fortunate Caraccioli ? ” 

‘ ‘ Sure enough ; yet these are the people. The Queen of 
the Fleet, our Fady Admiraless, had it all to herself; and 




257 


what passed between them, in Italian, I know no more than 
if it had been Greek. She never told me, you may rest 
assured ; and, from the look of her eye, I question a good 
deal if she ever told Nelson.” 

‘ ‘ I wish to heaven his lordship would cut adrift from his 
moorings alongside that craft. Captain Cuffe. I do assure 
you, sir, the fleet begins to talk loudly on the subject ; was 
it any other man, there ’d be the devil to pay about it — but 
we can all stand a good deal from Nelson and Bronte.” 

“Well — ^well ; let every man father his own children; 
you ought to be quiet, Winchester, for he asked very kindly 
about your hurt to-day, and would have sent you aboard 
some knick-knack or other for the stomach, but I told him 
you were all a-tanto again, and at duty. What between his 
head, and his arm, and his eye, he’s got to be such a hulk 
himself, that he thinks every wounded man a sort of a rela- 
tion. I should not complain, however, if the small-pox 
could lay hold of that beauty.” 

“ This has been a bad day’s work for England, depend on 
it. Captain Cuffe ! ” 

“Well, if it has, St. Vincent and the Nile were good 
days’ works ; and we ’ll let one balance the other. Inquire 
of this young woman, Mr. Grifi&n, if I had not the pleasure 
of seeing her to-day on board the Foudroyant ? ” 

The question was put, as desired, and Ghita quietly, but 
unhesitatingly, answered in the affirmative. 

“Then ask her to explain how she happened to fall into 
the company of Raoul Yvard? ” 

“Signori,” said Ghita, naturally, for she had nothing to 
conceal on this point, “we live on Monte Argentaro, where 
my uncle is the keeper of the prince’s towers. You know, 
we have much to fear from the barbarians along all that 
coast ; and last season, when the peace with France kept the 
Inglesi at a distance — I know not how it is. Signori, but 
they say the barbarians are always hardest on the enemies 
of Inghilterra — but, the past season, a boat from a rover had 
seized upon my uncle and myself, and were carrying us off 
into captivity, when a Frenchman, and his lugger, rescued 
us. From that time we became friends ; and our friend has 
17 




258 

often stopped near our towers to visit us. To-day, we found 
him in a boat, by the side of the English admiral’s ship ; 
and, as an old acquaintance, he undertook to bring us to 
the Sorrentine shore, where we are at present staying with 
my mother’s sister.” 

This was told so naturally, as to carry with it the con- 
viction of its truth ; and when GrifiBin had translated it, he 
did not fail to assure his superior that he would pledge him- 
self for the accuracy of the statement. 

“Ay you young luffs, Griffin, are never backward with 
your vows for or to pretty girls,” answered Cuffe. “The 
girl does seem honest, however ; and, what is more extraor- 
dinary, for the company she is in, she seems modest too. 
Tell her she shall not be harmed, though we cannot deprive 
ourselves of the pleasure of her company immediately. She 
shall have the larboard state-room in my cabin until morn- 
ing, where she and her uncle may live a great deal more 
comfortably than in one of their out-of-door Neapolitan 
rookeries. Monte Argentaro, ha ! That ’s a bluff just be- 
yond the Roman coast, and it is famously besprinkled with 
towers, half a dozen of them at least within as many miles, 
and who knows but this Jack-o’-Eantem may be extin- 
guished some fine morning, should we fail of laying our 
hands on it now ? ’ ’ 

“We can hardly fail of the last. Captain Cuffe, having 
her commander in our possession.” 

Orders were then given to dispose of the prisoners, leaving 
the boat on deck. Raoul was sent below, and put in a can- 
vas state-room, the arms having been removed, even to the 
razors, and a sentinel placed at the door. Escape from such 
a situation was impossible ; and as for self-violence, when 
that point was considered, Cuffe had coolly remarked, “ Poor 
devil ! hanged he must be, and if he should be his own exe- 
cutioner, it will save us the discomfort of having a scene on 
board. I suppose Nelson will order him to our fore-yard- 
arm, as a jewel-block. I don’t see why he cannot use a 
Neapolitan frigate for this job, too; they are good for 
nothing else.” 

“ I rather think, Captain Cuffe, he will swing on board 




259 


his own Ingger, should we succeed in catching her,” answered 
the lieutenant. 

“By George, you’re right, Griffin; and that’s another 
inducement for looking out sharp for the Few-Folly. How 
much better it would have been had we burnt them all in a 
bunch off the Golo ! ” 

Then followed the arrangement by which the prisoner was 
put into the gun-room, as mentioned. Ghita and her uncle 
were shown into the empty cabin state-room, and mattresses 
were provided on which they might repose. Then the cap- 
tain and his two guests retired to the after-cabin, whither 
Griffin was invited to accompany them. Here the captain 
recollected that there had been a fourth individual in the 
boat, and he sent an order on deck for him to come down 
for examination. Ithuel, observing the attention of the 
officers occupied by Ghita and her uncle, had stolen back 
towards his own yawl, of which he had taken possession, 
stretching himself out at length, with the apparent design 
to sleep, but in reality to keep himself “out of mind” by 
remaining “out of sight ” ; reserving, in petto, an intention 
to jump overboard, should the ship go near enough to the 
land to give him a chance for his life, after the moon set. 
In this situation he was found, aroused from his lair, and led 
into the cabin. 

It has been mentioned that Ithuel would not consent to 
trust himself near the Proserpine without disguising his 
person. Raoul being well provided with all the materials 
for a masquerade, this had been effected by putting a black 
curling wig over his own lank, sandy hair, coloring his 
whiskers and eyebrows, and trusting the remainder to the 
transformation which might be produced by the dress, or 
rather undress, of a Neapolitan waterman. The greatest 
obstacle to this arrangement had been a certain queue, which 
Ithuel habitually wore in a cured eel-skin that he had 
brought with him from America, eight years before, and both 
of which, “queue and eel-skin,” he cherished as relics of 
better days. Once a week this queue was unbound and 
combed, but all the remainder of the time it continued in a 
solid mass quite a foot in length, being as hard and about as 


26 o 




thick as a rope an inch in diameter. Now, the queue had 
undergone its hebdomadal combing just an hour before 
Raoul announced his intention to proceed to Naples in the 
yawl, and it would have been innovating on the only thing 
that Ithuel treated with reverence, to undo the work until 
another week had completed its round. The queue, there- 
fore, was disposed of under the wig, in the best manner that 
its shape and solidity would allow. 

Ithuel was left in the fore-cabin, and his presence was 
announced to Cuffe. 

“It’s no doubt some poor devil belonging to the Few- 
Folly’s crew,” observed the English captain, in a rather 
compassionate manner, ‘ ‘ and we can hardly think of string- 
ing him up, most probably for obeying an order. That 
would never do, Griffin ; so we ’ll just step out and overhaul 
his log, in French, and send him off to England to a prison- 
ship, by the first return vessel.” 

As this was said, the four in the after-cabin left it to- 
gether, and stood before this new prisoner. Of course 
Ithuel understood all that was said in English, while the 
very idea of being catechized in French threw him into a 
cold sweat. In this strait, the idea suddenly crossed his 
mind, that his greatest security would be in feigning 
dumbness. 

“ ficoutez, mon ami,” commenced Griffin, in very respect- 
able English-French, “you are to tell me nothing but the 
truth, and it may be all the better for you. You belong to 
the Feu-Follet, of course ? ” 

Ithuel shook his head in strong disgust, and endeavored 
to make a sound that he intended to represent a dumb man 
struggling to utter the word “ Napoli.” 

“What is the fellow after, Griffin? ” said Cuffe. “ Can it 
be he does n’t understand French ! Try him a touch in 
Italian, and let us see what he will say to that.” 

Griffin repeated very much what he had said before, 
merely changing the language, and received the same gag- 
ging sounds for an answer. The gentlemen looked at each 
other, as much as to express their surprise. But, unluckily 
for Ithuel’ s plan, he had brought with him from the Granite 


ming»ant»=mtng 


261 


State a certain propensity to pass all the modulations of his 
voice through his nose ; and the effort to make a suppressed 
sound brought that member more than usually into requisi- 
tion, thereby producing a certain disagreeable combination^ 
that destroyed everything like music, that commonly char- 
acterizes the Italian words. Now, Andrea had been struck 
with this peculiarity about the tones of the American’s voice, 
in the interview at Benedetta’s wine-house ; and the whole 
connection between Raoul and this singular person being 
associated in his mind, the truth flashed on him, as it might 
be, at a glance. His previous success that night embold- 
ened the worthy vice-govematore, and, without any remark, 
he walked steadily up to Ithuel, removed the wig, and per- 
mitted the eel-skin queue to resume its natural position on 
the back of its owner. 

“ Ha ! What, Veechy,” exclaimed Cufie, laughing, “ you 
unearth them like so many foxes to-night. Now, Griffin, 
hang me if I do not think I ’ve seen that chap before ! Is n’t 
he the very man we found at the wheel of I^e Voltigeuse, 
when we boarded her ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ I^ord bless me, Captain Cuffe — no, sir. This fellow is 
as long as two of that chap ; and yet I know the face, too. 
I wish you ’d let me send for one of the young gentlemen, 
sir ; they ’re worth all the rest of the ship at remembering 
faces.” 

The permission was given, and the cabin-steward was 
sent on deck to desire Mr. Roller, one of the oldest mid- 
shipmen, and who was known to have the watch, to come 
below. 

“Took at this fellow, Mr. Roller,” said Griffin, as soon 
as the youngster had taken his place in the group, ‘ ‘ and 
tell us if you can make anything of him.” 

“ It ’s the lazy-rony, sir, we hoisted in, a bit ago, when we 
struck the boat on deck.” 

“ Ay, no doubt of that ; but we think we have seen his 
face before ; can you make that out ? ’ ’ 

Roller now walked round the immovable subject of all 
these remarks ; and he, too, began to think the singular, 
looking object was no stranger to him. As soon, however. 


262 




as he got a sight of the queue, he struck Ithuel a smart slap 
on the shoulder, and exclaimed — 

“ You ’re welcome back, my lad ! I hope you ’ll find your 
berth aloft as much to your mind as it used to be. This is 
Bolt, Captain Cuffe, the fore-top-man, who ran from us 
when last in England, was caught and put in a guard-ship, 
from which they sent us word he stole a boat, and got off, 
with two or three Erench prisoners, who happened to be 
there at the moment, on some inquiry or other. Don’t 
you remember it all, Mr. Griffin? you may remember the 
fellow pretended to be an American.” 

Ithuel was now completely exposed, and he at once per- 
ceived that his wisest way was to submit. Cuffe’ s counte- 
nance darkened, for he regarded a deserter with a species 
of professional horror, and the impressed deserter, to whose 
services England had no other right than that of might, 
with an additional degree of resentment, that was very fairly 
proportioned to the inward consciousness he felt that a great 
wrong was done in detaining the man at all. There is 
nothing extraordinary in these feelings ; a very common 
resource, under such circumstances, being to imagine delin- 
quencies that justify us to ourselves, by endeavoring to 
believe that the subject of any act of our oppression at least 
merits the infliction. 

“ Do you dare to deny what this young gentleman has 
just said, sirrah ? ” demanded the captain. “ I now remem- 
ber you, myself ; you are Bolt, the fore- top-man, that ran at 
Plymouth.” 

“ You ’d ’a’ run, too. Captain Cuffe, had you been in my 
place, had the ship been at Jericho.” 

“Enough! no impudence, sir. Send for the master- 
at-arms, Mr. Griffin, and have the fellow ironed : to-morrow 
we ’ll look into the affair.” 

These orders were obeyed, and Ithuel was removed to 
the place where the master-at-arms usually reigns on board 
ship. Cuffe now gave the lieutenant his congi^ and then 
withdrew to the inner-cabin, to prepare a despatch for the 
rear-admiral. He was near an hour writing a letter to his 
mind, but finally succeeded. Its purport was as follows: 




263 


He reported the capture of Raoul, explaining the mode and 
the circumstances under which that celebrated privateers- 
man had fallen into his hands. He then asked for instruc- 
tions as to the manner in which he was to dispose of his 
I prisoner. Having communicated this important fact, he 
ventured some suggestions as to the probable vicinity of the 
lugger, and the hopes he entertained of being able to find 
out her precise situation, through the agency of Bolt, whose 
I condition he also explained, hinting at the same time the 
! expediency of bringing both delinquents to as speedy trials 
as possible, as the most certain manner of using their appre- 
hensions in seizing I^e Feu-Follet. The letter concluded 
with an earnest request that another frigate, which was 
mentioned, her captain being junior to Cufie, and a fast-sail- 
I ing sloop that was lying off Naples, might be sent down to 
I assist him in “heading off” the lugger, as he feared the 
latter was too swift to be overtaken by the Proserpine alone, 
more especially in the light winds which prevailed. 

When this letter was written, addressed, and sealed, 
Cuffe went on deck again. It was now nine o’clock, or two 
bells, and Winchester had the quarter-deck nearly to him- 
self. All was as tranquil and calm on the deck of that fine 
frigate as a moonlight night, a drowsy watch, a light wind, 
and smooth water, could render things in a bay like that 
of Naples. Gleamings of fire were occasionally seen over 
Vesuvius, but things in that direction looked misty and 
mysterious, though Capri loomed up, dark and grand, a few 
miles to leeward, and Ischia was visible, a confused but 
distant pile on the lee-bow. An order from Cuffe, how- 
ever, set everybody in motion. Yard- and stay- tackles were 
overhauled and hooked on, the boatswain’ s-mate piped the 
orders, and the first cutter was hoisted over the waist cloths, 
and lowered into the water. “Away, there, you first 
cutters ! ” had been hoarsely called on the berth-deck, and 
the crew were ready to enter the boat by the time the latter 
was lowered. The masts were stepped. Roller appeared, in 
a pea-jacket, to guard against the night air, and Cuffe gave 
him his instructions. 

“ Set your sails, and stretch over under the north shore, 


264 




Mr. Roller,” said the captain, who stood in the lee-gangway, 
to give a last word. “You will fetch in about Queen Joan’s 
Palace. There, you had better take to your oars and pull 
up along the land. Remember, sir, to join us by the first 
ship that comes out ; and, if none is sent, to come down 
with the morning breeze in the boat.” 

Roller gave the customary “Ay, ay, sir;” the boat 
shoved off ; as soon as from under the lee of the ship, the 
lugs were set, and half an hour later, the night had swal- 
lowed up her form. Cufie remained an hour longer, walk- 
ing the deck with his first lieutenant ; and then, satisfied 
that the night would prove propitious, he went below, 
leaving orders to keep the ship lying-to until morning. 

As for Roller, he pulled alongside of the Foudroy ant just 
as the bells of the fleet were striking eight, or at midnight. 
Nelson was still up, writing in his cabin. The despatch 
was delivered, and then the secretary of the admiral, and 
a clerk or two, were called from their berths ; for nothing 
lagged that this active-minded man had in charge. Orders 
were written, copied, signed, and sent to different ships, by 
two o’clock, that the morning breeze might not be lost ; and 
not till then did the employis think of rest. 

Roller left the flag-ship at two, having eaten a hearty 
supper in Nelson’s own cabin, and repaired on board the 
Terpsichore, a smart little frigate of thirty-two guns, twelve- 
pounders, with instructions to her captain to receive him. 
Two hours later, this ship, in company with another still 
smaller, the Ringdove, eighteen, left her anchorage, under a 
cloud of canvas, and stood down the bay, carrying studding- 
sails on both sides, with a light wind at northwest, heading 
towards Capri. 




CHAPTER XVII. 

‘‘Speak to the business, Master Secretary : 

Why are we met in council ? ” 

King Henry VIII. 

W HEN the idlers of the Proserpine appeared on 
deck the following morning, the ship was 
about a league to windward of Capri, having 
forged well over towards the north side of 
the bay, during the night, wore round, and got thus far back 
on the other tack. From the moment light returned, look- 
outs had been aloft with glasses, examining every nook and 
comer of the bay, in order to ascertain whether any signs 
of the lugger were to be seen, under its bold and picturesque 
shore. So great is the extent of this beautiful basin, so 
grand the natural objects which surround it, and so clear 
the atmosphere, that even the largest ships loom less than 
usual on its waters ; and it would have been a very possible 
thing for Ee Feu-Follet to anchor near some of the landings, 
and lie there unnoticed for a week, by the fleet above, unless 
tidings were carried to the latter by observers on the shore. 

CufFe was the last to come on deck, six bells, or seven 
o’clock striking, as the group on the quarter-deck first lifted 
their hats to him. He glanced around him, and then turned 
towards Grifiin, who was now officer of the watch. 

“I see two ships coming down the bay, Mr. Griffin,” he 
said ; “no signals yet, I suppose, sir? ” 

“Certainly not, sir, or they would have been reported. 
We make out the frigate to be the Terpsichore, and the 
sloop, I know by her new royals, is the Ringdove. The 
first ship. Captain Cuffe, brags of being able to travel faster 
than anything within the Straits ! ’ ’ 



266 




“ I ’ll bet a month’s pay the Few-Folly walks away from 
her, on a bowline, ten knots to her nine. If she can do 
that with the Proserpine, she ’ll at least do that with Mis- 
tress Terpsichore. There goes a signal from the frigate 
now, Mr. GriflBn, though a conjurer could hardly read it, 
tailing directly on as it does. Well, quartermaster, what 
do you make it out to be ? ” 

“It’s the Terpsichore’s number, sir; and the other ship 
has just made the Ringdove’s.” 

“ Show ours, and keep a sharp lookout ; there ’ll be some- 
thing else to tell us, presently. ’ ’ 

In a few minutes the Terpsichore expressed a wish to speak 
the Proserpine, when Cuffe filled his main- topsail, and hauled 
close upon a wind. An hour later, the three ships passed 
within hail of each other, when both the junior commanders 
lowered their gigs and came on board the Proserpine to report. 

Roller followed in the first cutter, which had been towed 
down by the Terpsichore. 

The Terpsichore was commanded by Captain Sir Fred- 
erick Dashwood, a lively young baronet, who preferred the 
active life of a sailor, to indolence and six thousand a year 
on shore ; and who had been rewarded for his enterprise by 
promotion and a fast frigate, at the early age of two-and- 
twenty. The Ringdove was under a master-commandant 
of the name of Tyon, who was just sixty years old, having 
worked his way up to the present rank by dint of long and 
arduous services, owing his last commission and his com- 
mand to the accident of having been a first lieutenant at 
the battle of Cape St. Vincent. Both these gentlemen ap- 
peared simultaneously on the quarter-deck of the Proserpine, 
where they were duly received by the captain and all the 
assembled officers. 

“Good-morrow to you, Cuffe,” said Dashwood, giving 
the other the tip of his fingers, as soon as the ceremonious 
part of the reception was over ; and casting a glance half 
admiring, half critical, at the appearance of things on deck. 
“ What has Nelson sent us down here about, this fine morn- 
ing, and — ^ha !— how long have you had those brass orna- 
ments on your capstan ? ” 


naifngsan&sMing 267 


“They were only put there, yesterday, Sir Frederick ; a 
little slush money did it all.” 

” Has Nelson seen them ? I rather fancy not ; they tell 
me he’s as savage as an Arab about knick-knackery nowa- 
days. What an awkward job that was yesterday afternoon, 
by the way, Cuflfe ! ” 

‘ ‘ It has been a bad business, and, as an old Agamemnon, 
I would give a year’s rank that it never had taken place.” 

“ A year’s rank ! that ’s a great deal ; a year would set 
me back, hard aground alongside of old I^yon, here. I was 
a lieutenant less than three years since, and could n’t afford 
half a year. But all you old Agamemnons think as much 
of your little Nel. as if he were a pretty girl ; is n’t it true, 
lyyon ? ” 

“I dare say it may be. Sir Frederick,” answered Fyon ; 
‘ ‘ and if you had been the first lieutenant of a two-decker, 
off Cape St. Vincent, on the 14th February, 1797, you would 
have thought as much of him too. Here we were, only 
fifteen sail in all — that is, of vessels of the line — with the 
wind at — ” 

“ O, hang your battle, I^yon ; I ’ve heard all that at least 
seventeen times ! ’ ’ 

“Well, if ye haave. Sir Frederick,” returned Fyon, who 
was a Scotchman, “it ’ll be just once a year since ye war’ 
bom, leaving out the time ye war’ in the nursery. But 
we ’ve not come here to enlighten Captain Cuffe in these 
particulars, so much as in obedience to an order of the rear- 
admiral’s — ^little Nel., as ye ’ll be calling him, I suppose. Sir 
Frederick Dash wood ? ’ ’ 

“Nay, it’s you old Agamemnons, or old fellows, who 
gave him that name — ’ ’ 

“Ye’ll please to excuse me, sir,” interrupted Lyon, a lit- 
tle dogmatically, “ye’ve never heard me call him anything 
but my lord, since his majesty, God bless him ! was gracious- 
ly pleased to elevate him to the peerage — nothing but ‘ my 
lord, ’ and the ‘ rear-admiral’ ; naval rank being entitled to 
its privileges even on the throne. Many a king has been a 
colonel, and I see no disparagement in one’s being an admiral. 
Won’t ye be thinking. Captain Cufie, that since my lord is 


268 




made Duke of Bronte, he is entitled to be called ‘ Your Grace ’? 
all the Scottish dukes are so designated, and I see no reason 
why the rear-admiral should not have his just dues as well 
as the best of them.” 

“Det him alone for that,” said CuJBfe, laughing; “Nel. 
will look out for himself, as well as for the king. But, 
gentlemen, I suppose you have not come down here merely 
for a morning walk ; have I any reports to hear? ” 

‘ ‘ I beg your pardon. Captain Cuffe, but I was really for- 
getting my errand,” answered Dash wood. “ Here are your 
orders, and we are both directed to report to you. The 
lieutenant who brought the package aboard me said there 
would be a spy to try, and a lugger to catch. Did they 
tell you anything of this matter, Tyon ? ’ ’ 

“No, Sir Frederick; not being inquisitive, I hear but 
little of what is going on in the fleet. My orders are to 
report myself and ship to Captain Cufie, for service, which 
I have the honor now to do.” 

“Well, gentlemen, here are further instructions for you. 
This is an order to hold a court, composed of Captain 
Richard Cuffe, of the Proserpine, president ; Captain Sir 
Frederick Dashwood, Bart., of the Terpsichore, etc., etc. ; 
and Tyon, Winchester, and Spriggs, your first lieutenant. 
Sir Frederick, for the trials of Raoul Yvard, a French citi- 
zen, on the charge of being a spy, and Ithuel Bolt, sea- 
man, etc., on the charge of being a deserter. Here is 
everything in rule, and there are your respective orders, 
gentlemen. ’ ’ 

“ Bless me ! I ’d no notion of this,” exclaimed Tyon, who 
was greatly averse to this part of an officer’s duty. “I’d 
thought it altogether a trial of speed after a Frenchman, 
for which purpose, the rear-admiral, or my lord, or his 
grace, whichever it may be right to call him, had seen fit to 
bring three of his fastest ships together.” 

“ I wish it was nothing but the last. Captain Tyon ; but 
we have the disagreeable duty of trying a spy and a de- 
serter before us. You will return to your ships, gentle- 
men, and follow us in to an anchorage. I intend to bring 
up, at a single anchor, under the shore at Capri, where we 


Mingsan&sTKIlina 


269 


can lie during the calm, and get through with our courts. 
The cases will be clear, and not detain us long, and we can 
send look-outs up on the heights to examine the sea and 
the coast, outvSide. In the meantime, we must be busy lest 
we lose the breeze. You will attend to the signal for the 
court.” 

At this order the two visitors got into their boats, and 
the Proserpine again filled. The three vessels now made 
the best of their way towards the point of destination, an- 
choring off the town, or village, in the Island of Capri, just 
as two bells struck. Ten minutes later, the Proserpine fired 
a gun, and ran up the flag which denotes the sitting of a 
court-martial. 

Although it has not been deemed necessary to relate 
them, the reader will understand that all the details required 
by the law had been observed, as regards these trials ; the 
promptitude of the proceedings being partly characteristic 
of the decision of the admiral, but more in consequence of 
a wish to use the charges against the delinquents as a 
means of seizing the true hero of our tale, the little Peu- 
Follet. While a mistake, not to say a mawkish philan- 
thropy, is unsettling so many of the ancient landmarks of 
society, and, among other heresies, is preaching the doctrine 
that “The object of punishment is the reformation of the 
criminal,” it is a truth which all experience confirms that 
nothing renders justice so terrible, and consequently so 
efficient, as its promptitude and certainty. When all its 
requirements are observed, the speediest exercise of its 
functions is the most conducive to the protection of society, 
the real motive for the existence of all human regulations 
of this nature ; and it is a great merit of the much-abused 
English ordinances, that the laws are rarely made stalking- 
horses for the benefit of the murderer or the forger ; but, 
that once fairly tried and convicted, the expiation of their 
crimes awaits the offenders with a certainty and energy that 
leave the impression on the community that punishments 
were intended to produce. That this people has done well 
in liberating itself from many of their inherited usages and 
laws, is as certain as that one age has interests different 


270 




from another ; one set of circumstances, governing principles 
at variance with those which preceded them ; but, it would 
be well also to remember, that, while moral changes are 
as necessary as physical exercise, there are truths that are 
eternal, and rules of right and prudence, which can never 
be departed from with impimity. 

When the members of the court mentioned assembled 
in the cabin of the Proserpine, it was with all the forms 
and exterior observances that were necessary to command 
respect. The officers were in full dress, the oaths were 
administered with solemnity, the table was arranged with 
taste, and an air of decent gravity reigned over all. Tittle 
time, however, was lost unnecessarily, and the officer to 
whom had been assigned the duty of provost-marshal was 
directed to produce his prisoners. 

Raoul Yvard and Ithuel Bolt were brought into the 
cabin at the same moment, though they came from different 
parts of the ship, and were allowed to hold no communica- 
tion with each other. When both were present, they were 
arraigned, and the accusations were read to them. Raoul 
having admitted his knowledge of English, no interpreter 
was sworn, but the proceedings were had in the usual 
manner. As it was intended to try the Frenchman first, 
and Ithuel might be wanted as a witness, the latter was 
taken out of the cabin again, courts-martial never permit- 
ting one witness to hear what another has testified, although 
an ingenious substitute for ears has been adopted of late, by 
publishing in the journals, from day to day, whatever passes, 
when the length of the proceedings will admit of such a 
device. 

“We will now swear the Signor Andrea Barrofaldi,” 
commenced the Judge Advocate, as soon as the prelimina- 
ries were observed. “This is a Catholic Bible, sir, and I 
will put the oaths in Italian, if you will have the goodness 
first to swear me in as an interpreter.” 

This was done, when the oath was duly administered to 
the vice-govematore. Then came a few questions as to the 
station, country, etc., of the witness, after which more mate- 
rial matter was inquired into. 




271 


“Signor Vice-govematore, do you know the prisoner by 
sight ? ’ ’ demanded the Judge Advocate. 

“Sir, I have had the honor to receive him in my residence 
in the Island of Klba. ’ ’ 

“Under what name and circumstances was he known to 
you, Signore ? ’ ’ 

Kh — he called himself Sir Smees, a capitano in the 
service of the English king. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ What vessel did he pretend to command ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Ze Ving-y-Ving — a lugger, which I have since had rea- 
son to think is Ue Feu-Eollet, a corsair under the French 
flag. Monsieur did me the favor to make two visits to 
Porto Ferrajo, in the character of Sir Smees.” 

“ And you know now that this is Raoul Yvard, the 
French privateersman you have mentioned? ” 

‘ ‘ Kh — know ? — I know they say this is the Signor Yvard, 
and that ze Ving-y-Ving is Ue Feu-Follet.” 

“They say, will not do. Signor Barrofaldi. Can you not 
say thus much of your own knowledge ? ’ ’ 

“ Non, Signore.” 

The court was now cleared ; when it reopened Vito Viti 
was sent for, and properly sworn, his attention being partic- 
ularly directed to the cross on the back of the book. 

‘ ‘ Did you ever see the prisoner before this occasion. 
Signor Viti?” demanded the Judge Advocate, after the 
preliminary questions had been put. 

‘ ‘ Signore, oftener than it is agreeable to remember. I 
do not think that two grave magistrates were ever more 
mystified than were the vice-govematore and myself ! 
Kh-h-h — Signori, the wisest sometimes become like suck- 
ing children, when there passes a mist before the under- 
standing. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Relate the circumstances under which this occurred, to 
the court. Signor Podest^. ’ ’ 

“Why Signori, the facts are just these: Andrea Barro- 
faldi, as you know, is the vice-governatore of Porto Ferrajo, 
and I am its unworthy podesta. Of course it is our duty to 
look into all matters affecting the public weal, and more 
especially into the business and occupations of strangers 


272 




who come into our island. Well, it is now three weeks or 
more since the lugger or felucca was seen — ’ ’ 

“Which was it, a felucca or a lugger?” demanded the 
Judge Advocate, holding his pen ready to write the answer. 
“Both, Signore ; a felucca and a lugger.” 

“Ah, — there were two ; a felucca and a lugger? ” 

“ No, Signore ; but this felucca was a lugger. Tommaso 
Tonti wished to mystify me about that, too ; but I have not 
been podest^ in a sea-port so many years, for nothing. 
No, Signori, there are all sorts of feluccas : ship-feluccas, 
brig- feluccas, and lugger- feluccas. ’ ’ 

When this answer was translated, the members of the court 
smiled, while Raoul Yvard laughed out honestly. 

“Well Signore Podest^,” resumed the Judge Advocate, 
“the prisoner came into Porto Perrajo in a lugger? ” 

“So it was said. Signore. I did not see him actually 
on board of her, but he professed to be the commander of 
a certain vessel, in the service of the King of Inghilterra, 
called ze Ving-y-Ving, and said that his own name was 
Smees — si — il capitano, or Sir Smees.” 

‘ ‘ Professed ? Do you not know that this lugger was the 
notorious French privateer, De Feu-Follet? ” 

‘ ‘ I know they say so, now. Signori ; but the vice-governa- 
tore and I supposed her to be ze Ving-y-Ving.” 

“ And do you not know that the prisoner is actually Raoul 
Yvard ; of your own knowledge, I mean ? ’ ’ 

“ Corpo di Bacco ! how should I know any such thing. 
Signore Guideca-Avvocato,” exclaimed Vito Viti, who liter- 
ally translated what he understood to be the title of his 
interrogator, thereby converting him into a sort of ship- 
felucca, — “how should I know any such thing? I do not 
keep company with corsairs, except when they come upon 
our island and call themselves ‘ Sir Smees.’ ” 

The Judge Advocate and the members of the court looked 
gravely at each other. No one in the least doubted that the 
prisoner was Raoul Yvard, but it was necessary legally to 
prove it, before he could be condemned. CufFe was now 
asked if the prisoner had not confessed his own identity, but 
no one could say he had done so in terms, although his con- 




273 


versation woiild seem to imply as much. In a word, justice 
was like to be in what is by no means an unusual dilemma 
for that upright functionary, namely, unable to show a fact 
that no one doubted. At length Cuffe recollected Ghita 
and Ithuel, and he wrote their names on a piece of paper, and 
passed them down the table to the Judge Advocate. The 
latter nodded his head, as much as to say he understood the 
president’s meaning ; and then he told the prisoner he might 
cross-examine the witness, if he saw fit. 

Raoul fully understood his situation. Although he cer- 
tainly had not entered the Bay of Naples with any of the 
ordinary views of a spy, he was aware how far he had com- 
mitted himself, and foresaw the readiness with which his 
enemies would destroy him, could they find the legal means 
of so doing. He also comprehended the dilemma in which 
his accusers were placed for the want of testimony, and at 
once resolved to turn the circumstance as much as possible 
to his advantage. Until that moment, the idea of denying 
his own identity had never crossed his mind ; but perceiving 
what he fancied an opening for escape, it was but natural 
to avail himself of its protection. Turning, then, to the 
podest^, he put his questions in English, that they might go 
fairly through the same process of interpretation as the rest 
of the examination. 

“You say. Signor Podest^,’’ he commenced, “that you 
saw me in the town of Porto Ferrajo, and in the Island of 
Elba?” 

“Si; in which town I have the honor to be one of the 
authorities.” 

“You say I professed to command a vessel in the service 
of the king of England; a felucca, called ze Ving-and- 
Ving?” 

“Si — ze Ving-y-Ving — the commander of that felucca.” 

“I understood you to say, Mr. Podest^,” put in Lyon, 
“ that the craft was a lugger? ” 

“A felucca-lugger. Signor Capitano ; nothing more nor 
less than that, on my honor.” 

“And all these honorable officers well know,” observed 
Raoul, ironically, “that a felucca-lugger, and a lugger, such 

18 


274 




as I^e Feu-Follet is understood to be, are very different 
things. Now, Signore, you have never heard me say that I 
am a Frenchman ? ” 

“ Non ; you have not been so weak as to confess that, to 
one who hates the name of the Frangese. Cospetto ! If all 
the Grand Duke’s subjects detested his enemies as I do, he 
would be the most powerful prince in Italy ! ” 

“No doubt. Signore ; and now suffer me to inquire if you 
heard any other name for that felucca than ze Ving-and- 
Ving. Did I ever call her De Feu-Follet ? ’ ’ 

“Non; always ze Ving-y-Ving; never anything else; 
but—” 

“ Your pardon. Signore ; have the goodness to answer my 
questions. I called the felucca ze Ving-and-Ving ; and I 
called myself Fe Capitaine Smeet ; is it not true ? ’ ’ 

“Si; Ving-y-Ving, and II Capitano Smees — Sir Smees, 
a signore of an illustrious English family of that name, if I 
remember right. ’ ’ 

Raoul smiled, for he was confident this notion proceeded 
principally from the self-illusion of the two Italians them- 
selves; the little he had said on the subject having been 
drawn out more by their suggestions than by any design on 
his part. Still he did not deem it prudent to contradict the 
podest^, who, as yet, had testified to nothing that could 
possibly criminate him. 

“ If a young man has the vanity to wish to be thought 
noble, ’ ’ answered Raoul, calmly, ‘ ‘ it may prove his folly, but 
it does not prove him a spy. You did not hear me confess 
myself a Frenchman, you say : now, did you not hear me 
say I was born in Guernsey ? ” 

“ Si ; the Signore did say that the family of Smees came 
from that island, as the vice-governatore calls it, though I 
acknowledge I never heard of such an island. There are 
Sicilia, Sardegna, Elba, Caprea, Ischia, Irlanda, Inghilterra, 
Scozia, Malta, Capraya, Pianosa, Gorgona, and America, 
with several more in the East ; but I never heard of such an 
island as Guernsey. Si, Signore; we are humble people, 
and I hope modest people, in the Island of Elba, but we do 
know something of the rest of the world, notwithstanding. 




275 

If you wish to hear these matters touched on ingeniously, 
however, you will do well to call in the vice-govematore for 
half an hour, and invite him to open his stores of knowledge. 
San Antonio ! I doubt if Italy has his equal — at islands, in 
particular.” 

‘ ‘ Good ! ’ ’ continued Raoul ; ‘ ‘ and now tell these officers, 
Signor Podest^, if you can say, on your oath, that I had 
anything to do with that felucca, ze Ving-and-Ving, at all.” 

“I cannot. Signore, except from your own words. You 
were dressed like one of these officers, here, in an English 
uniform, and said you commanded ze Ving-y-Ving. While 
speaking of islands. Signori, I forgot Palmavola and Ponza, 
both of which we passed in this ship, on our voyage from 
Elba.” 

“Good! it is always well to be particular under oath. 
Now, Signor Podesta, the result of all your evidence is, 
that you do not know that the felucca you mention was 
Ee Eeu-Eollet, that I am a Frenchman even, much less 
that I am Raoul Yvard, and that I told you that I was 
from Guernsey, and that my name was Jaques Smeet ; is 
it not so?” 

“ Si ; you did say your name was Giac Smees, and you 
did not say you were Raoul Yvard. But, Signore, I saw 
you firing your cannon at the boats of this frigate, with 
French colors flying, and that is some signs of an enemy, as 
we understand these matters in Porto Ferrajo.” 

Raoul felt that this was a direct blow ; still, it wanted the 
connecting link to make it testimony. 

“ But you did not see me doing this? You mean you saw 
ze Ving-and-Ving in a combat with the frigate’s boats.” 

“Si— that was it; but you told me you were commander 
of ze Ving-y-Ving. ’ ’ 

“ Eet us understand you,” put in the Judge Advocate; 
“is it the intention of the prisoner to deny his being a 
Frenchman and an enemy ? ” 

“It is my intention, sir, to deny everything that is not 
proved.” 

“But your accent — ^your English — nay, your appearance 
show that you are a Frenchman.” 


276 




“Your pardon, sir. There are many nations that speak 
French, which are not French, to-day. All along the north 
frontier of France, is French spoken by foreigners — Savoy, 
and Geneva, and Vaud — also the English have French 
subjects in the Canadas, besides Guernsey and Jersey. 
You will not hang a man because his accent is not from 
Eondon ? ’ ’ 

“We shall do you justice, prisoner,” observed Cuffe, “and 
you shall have the benefit of every doubt that makes in your 
favor. Still, it may be well to inform you that the impres- 
sion of your being a Frenchman and Raoul Yvard, is very 
strong ; and if you can show to the contrary, you would do 
well to prove it, by direct testimony.” 

‘ ‘ How will this honorable court expect that to be done ? 
I was taken in a boat, last night, and am tried this morning, 
at a notice as short as that which was given to Caraccioli. 
Give me time to send for witnesses, and I will prove who 
and what l am.” 

This was said coolly, and with the air of a man assured 
of his own innocence, and it produced a slight effect on his 
judges ; for an appeal to the unvarying principles of right 
seldom falls unheeded on the ear. Nevertheless, there could 
be no doubt in the minds of the officers of the Proserpine, 
in particular, either as to the character of the lugger or as 
to that of the prisoner ; and men, under such circumstances, 
were not likely to allow an enemy who had done them so 
much injury to escape. The appeal only rendered them 
more cautious, and more determined to protect themselves 
against charges of unfair proceedings. 

“ Have you any further questions to put to the witness, 
prisoner ? ” inquired the president of the court. 

“None, at present, sir— we will go on, if you please, 
gentlemen.” 

“ Call Ithuel Bolt,” said the Judge Advocate, reading the 
new witness’ name from a list before him. 

Raoul started, for the idea of the American’s being 
brought forward in this capacity had never occurred to him. 
In a minute Ithuel appeared, was sworn, and took his place 
at the foot of the table. 




277 


“ Your name is Ithuel Bolt ? ” observed the Judge Advo- 
cate, holding his pen in readiness to record the answer. 

“So they say aboard here,” answered the witness, coolly ; 
“though, for my part, I’ve no answer to give to such a 
question.” 

‘ ‘ Do you deny your name, sir ? ” 

“ I deny nothing — want to say nothing, or to have any- 
thing to do with this trial or this ship. ’ ’ 

Raoul breathed easier ; for to own the truth, he had not 
much confidence in Ithuel’ s constancy or disinterestedness ; 
and he apprehended that he had been purchased with the 
promise of a pardon for himself. 

“You will remember that you are under oath, and may 
be punished for contumacy, on refusing to answer.” 

“I’ve some gineral idees of law,” answered Ithuel, pass- 
ing his hand over his queue to make sure it was right, ‘ ‘ for 
we all do a little at that in Ameriky. I practised some my- 
self, when a young man, though it was only afore a justice- 
peace. We used to hold that a witness needn’t answer 
agin himself.” 

“ Is it, then, on account of criminating yourself that you 
answer thus vaguely ? ” 

“I decline answering that question,” answered Ithuel, 
with an air of dignity. 

“ Witness, have you any personal knowledge of the pris- 
oner ? ’ ’ 

“ I decline to answer that question, too.” 

“Do you know anything of such a person as Raoul 
Yvard? ” 

“What if I do? I’m a native American, and have a 
right to form acquaintances in foreign lands if I see it ’s to 
my interest or it ’s agreeable to my feelin’s.” 

“ Have you never served on board his majesty’s ships? ” 

“What majesty? There’s no majesty in Ameriky, as I 
know, but the majesty of heaven.” 

“ Remember that your answers are all recorded, and may 
tell against you on some other occasion. ’ ’ 

“ Not lawfully ; a witness can’t be made to give answers 
that tell agin himself.” 


278 


WiinQ^nni>^Wiin6 


Certainly not made to do it ; still he may do it, of his 
own accord.” 

“Then it ’s the duty of the court to put him on his guard. 
I ’ve heerd that, agin and agin, in Ameriky.” 

“ Did you ever see a vessel called Te Feu-Follet ? ” 

“How, in natur’,is a mariner to tell all the vessels he 
may happen to see on the wide ocean ! ” 

“ Did you ever serve under the French flag? ” 

“ I decline entering at all into my private afiairs. Being 
free, I ’m free to sarve where I please.” 

“It is useless to ask this witness any further questions,” 
Cuffe quietly observed. “The man is well known in this 
ship, and his own trial will most probably take place as soon 
as this is ended. ’ ’ 

The Judge Advocate assented, and Ithuel was permitted 
to withdraw, his contumacy being treated with the indiffer- 
ence that power is apt to exhibit towards weakness. Still 
there was no legal proof on which to convict the prisoner. 
No one doubted his guilt, and there were the strongest 
reasons, short of a downright certainty, for supposing that 
he commanded the lugger which had so recently fought the 
boats of the very ship in which the court was sitting ; but 
notwithstanding, supposition was not the evidence the laws 
required ; and the recent execution of Caraccioli had made 
so much conversation, that few would condemn without 
seeing their justification before them. Things were really 
getting to be seriously awkward, and the court was again 
cleared for the purpose of consultation. In the private dis- 
course that followed, Cuffe stated all that had occurred, the 
manner in which Raoul had been identified, and the proba- 
bilities — nay, moral certainties of the case. At the same 
time, he was forced to allow that he possessed no direct evi- 
dence that the lugger he had chased was a Frenchman at 
all, and least of all De Feu-Follet. It is true, she had worn 
the French flag, but she had also worn the English, and the 
Proserpine had done the same thing. To be sure, the lug- 
ger had fought under the drapeau tricolor, which might be 
taken as a strong circumstance against her ; but it was not 
absolutely conclusive, for the circumstances might possibly 




279 


justify deception to the last moment ; and he admitted that 
the frigate herself had appeared to fire at the batteries, un- 
der the same ensign. The case was allowed to be embar- 
rassing ; and, while no one really doubted the identity of 
Raoul, those who were behind the curtains greatly feared 
they might be compelled to adjourn the trial for want of 
evidence, instead of making an immediate sentence the 
means of getting possession of the lugger, as had been 
hoped. When all these points had been sufiiciently dis- 
cussed, and Cuffe had let his brethren into his view of the 
real state of the case, he pointed out a course that he still 
trusted would prove effectual. After a few minutes of 
further deliberation on this information, the doors were 
opened, and the court resumed its public sitting, as 
before. 

“Tet a young woman who is known by the name of 
Ghita, be brought in next,” said the Judge Advocate, con- 
sulting his notes. 

Raoul started, and a shade of manly concern passed over 
his face ; but he soon recovered, and seemed unmoved. 
Ghita and her uncle had been taken from the cabin state- 
room, and placed below, in order that the private consulta- 
tion might be perfectly secret, and it was necessary to wait 
a few minutes, until she could be summoned. These past, 
the door opened, and the girl entered the room. She cast a 
glance of tender concern at Raoul ; but the novelty of her 
situation, and the awful character of an oath to one of her 
sensitive conscience and utter inexperience, soon drew her 
attention entirely to the scene more immediately before her. 
The Judge Advocate explained the nature of the oath she 
was required to take ; and then he administered it. Had 
Ghita been taken less by surprise, or had she in the least 
foreseen the consequences, no human power could have in- 
duced her to submit to be sworn ; but, ignorant of all this, 
she submitted passively, kissing the cross with reverence, 
and even offering to kneel as she made the solemn protesta- 
tion. All this was painful to the prisoner, who distinctly 
foresaw the consequences. Still, so profound was his 
reverence for Ghita’ s singleness of heart and mind, that he 


28 o 


KIllnc|s=an^==XKIlin(j 


would not, by look or gesture, in any manner endeavor 
to undermine that sacred love of truth which he knew 
formed the very foundations of her character. She was 
accordingly sworn, without anything occurring to alarm 
her affections, or to apprise her of what might be the sad 
result of the act. 




CHAPTER XVIII. 


Y 


** Hie et ubique ? Then we ’ll shift our ground ; 

Come hither, gentlemen, 

And lay your hands upon my sword : 

Swear by my sword.” 

Hamlet, 

OUR name is Ghita,” commenced the Judge 
Advocate, examining his memoranda; “ Ghita 
what?” 

“Ghita Caracciola, Signore,” answered the 
girl, in a voice so gentle and sweet as to make a friend of 
every listener. 

The name, however, was not heard without producing a 
general start, and looks of surprise were exchanged among 
all in the room ; most of the officers of the ship who were 
not on duty being present as spectators. 

“ Caraccioli ! ” repeated the Judge Advocate, with empha- 
sis. “That is a great name in Italy. Do you assume to 
belong to the illustrious house which bears this appel- 
lation ? ’ ’ 

“Signore, I assume to own nothing that is illustrious, 
being merely an humble girl who lives with her uncle, in 
the prince’s towers on Monte Argentaro.” 

“How happens it, then, that you bear the distinguished 
name of Caraccioli, Signorina ? ’ ’ 

“I dare say, Mr. Medford,” observed Cuffe, in English, 
of course, “that the young woman doesn’t know herself 
whence she got the name. These matters are managed very 
loosely in Italy.” 

“Signore,” resumed Ghita, earnestly, after waiting re- 
spectfully for the captain to get through, “I bear the name 

281 



282 


‘IKIlina*=an5:^7KIlin^ 


of my father, as is usual with children, but it is a name on 
which a heavy disgrace has fallen, so lately as yesterday ; 
his father "having been a sight for the thousands of Naples 
to gaze on, as his aged body hung at the yard of one of 
your ships.” 

‘ ‘ And do you claim to be the granddaughter of that un- 
fortunate admiral?” 

“So I have been taught to consider myself ; may his soul 
rest in a peace that his foes would not grant to his body ! 
That criminal, as you doubtless believe him, was my father’s 
father, though few knew it, when he was honored as a 
prince and a high officer of the king’s.” 

A deep silence followed ; the singularity of the circum- 
stance, and the air of truth which pervaded the manner of 
the girl, uniting to produce a profound sensation. 

“The admiral had the reputation of being childless,” ob- 
served Cuffe, in an under-tone. “ Doubtless this girl’s father 
has been the consequence of some irregular connection. ” 

‘ ‘ If there has been a promise, or any words of recognition 
uttered before witnesses,” muttered Lyon, “accordin’ to 
the laws of Scotland, issue, and a few pairtenant expressions, 
will splice a couple as strongly as ye’ll be doing it in 
England, before either of the archbishops.” 

“As this is Italy, it is not probable that the same law 
rules here. Proceed, Mr. Judge Advocate.” 

“Well, Ghita Caraccioli — if that be your name — I wish 
to know if you have any acquaintance with a certain Raoul 
Yvard ; a Frenchman, and the commander of a private 
lugger-of-war, called Le Feu-Follet? Remember you are 
sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but 
the truth.” 

Ghita’ s heart beat violently, and the color came into her 
face with the impetuosity of sensitive alarm. She had no 
knowledge of courts, and the object of the inquiry was 
unknown to her. Then followed the triumph of innocence ; 
the purity of her mind and the quiet of her conscience re- 
assuring her, by bringing the strong conviction that she had 
no reason to blush for any sentiment she might happen to 
entertain. 




283 


‘‘Signore,” she said, dropping her eyes to the floor, for 
the gaze of all the court was fastened on her face, ''lam 
acquainted with Raoul Yvard, the person you mention ; 
this is he, who sits between those two cannon. He is a 
Frenchman, and he does command the lugger called I^e 
Feu-Follet.” 

” I knew we should get it all by this witness ! ” exclaimed 
Cufie, unable to suppress the relief he felt at obtaining the 
required testimony. 

“You say that you know this of your own knowledge,” 
resumed the Judge Advocate — 

“Messieurs,” said Raoul, rising, “will you grant me 
leave to speak ? This is a cruel scene, and rather than en- 
dure it — rather than give this dear girl the cause for future 
pain that I know her answers will bring, I ask that you per- 
mit her to retire, when I promise to admit all that you can 
possibly prove by her means. ’ ’ 

A short consultation followed, when Ghita was told to 
withdraw. But the girl had taken the alarm, from the 
countenance of Raoul, although she did not understand 
what passed in KngHsh ; and she was reluctant to quit the 
place in ignorance. 

“Have I said aught to injure thee, Raoul?” she anx- 
iously asked ; “I was sworn on the Word of God, and by 
the sacred cross ; had I foreseen any harm to thee, the 
power of England would not have made me take so solemn 
an oath, and then I might have been silent.” 

“ It matters not, dearest ; the fact must come out in some 
way or other, and, in due time, you shall know all. And 
now. Messieurs,” the door closing on Ghita, “there need 
be no further concealment between us. I am Raoul Yvard, 
the person you take me for, and the person that some of you 
must well know me to be. I fought your boats. Monsieur 
Cuffe, avoided your brfllot, and led you a merry chase 
round Elba. I deceived the Signor Barrofaldi, and his 
friend the podesta, and all for the love of this beautiful and 
modest girl, who has just left the cabin ; no other motive 
having carried me into Porto Ferrajo, or into this Bay of 
Naples, on the honor of a Frenchman.” 


284 




“Umph!” muttered I^yon, “it must be admitted, Sir 
Frederick, that the prisoner appeals to a most eligible 
standard ! ’ ’ 

On another occasion national antipathy and national pre- 
judice might have caused the rest of the court to smile at 
this sally ; but there was an earnestness and sincerity in the 
manner and countenance of Raoul, which, if they did not 
command entire belief, at least commanded respect. It was 
impossible to deride such a man ; and long cherished antipa- 
thies were rebuked by his spirited and manly declarations. 

“There will be no further occasion for witnesses, Mr. 
Judge Advocate, if the prisoner be disposed to acknowledge 
the whole truth, ’ ’ observed Cuffe, “It is proper, however. 
Monsieur Yvard, to apprise you of the possible consequen- 
ces. You are on trial for your life ; the charge being that of 
coming on board an English ship in disguise, or rather, into 
the centre of an English fleet, you being an alien enemy, 
engaged in carrying on open warfare against his majesty.” 

“ I am a Frenchman, Monsieur, and I serve my country,” 
answered Raoul, with dignity. 

“ Your right to serve your country, no one will dispute ; 
but 3^ou must know it is against the laws of civilized warfare 
to act the part of a spy. You are now on your guard, and 
will decide for yourself. If you have anything to say, we 
will hear it.” 

“Messieurs, there is little more to be said,” answered 
Raoul. “That I am your enemy, as I am of all those who 
seek the downfall of France, I do not deny. You know who 
I am, and what I am, and I have no excuses to make for 
being either. As brave Englishmen, you will know how to 
allow for the love a Frenchman bears his country. As for 
coming on board this ship, you cannot bring that as a charge 
against me, since it was at your own invitation I did it. The 
rites of hospitality are as sacred as they are general. ’ ’ 

The members of the court exchanged significant glances 
with each other, and there was a pause of more than a min- 
ute. Then the Judge Advocate resumed his duties, by 
saying,— 

“I wish you to understand, prisoner, the precise legal 


Miuci^anb^limtnG 


285 

effect of your admissions ; then I wish them to be made for- 
mally and deliberately ; else we must proceed to the exami- 
nation of other witnesses. You are said to be Raoul Yvard, 
an alien enemy, in arms against the king.” 

“Monsieur, this I have already admitted; it cannot hon- 
orably be denied.” 

“You are accused of coming on board his majesty’s ship 
Proserpine disguised, and of calling yourself a boatman of 
Capri, when you were Raoul Yvard, an alien enemy bearing 
arms against the king.” 

‘ ‘ This is all true ; but I was invited on board the ship, as 
I have just stated.” 

“You are furthermore accused of rowing in among the 
ships of his majesty, now lying in the Bay of Naples, and 
which ships are under the orders of Rear-Admiral Tord Nel- 
son, Duke of Bronte, in Sicily, you being in the same dis- 
guise, though an alien enemy, with the intent to make your 
observations as a spy, and, doubtless, to avail yourself of 
information thus obtained, to the injury of his majesty’s 
subjects, and to your own advantage, and that of the nation 
you serve.” 

“ Monsieur, this is not so ; parole d’honneur, I went into 
the bay in search of Ghita Caraccioli, who has my whole 
heart, and whom I would persuade to become my wife. 
Nothing else carried me into the bay ; and I wore this dress, 
because I might otherwise have been known and arrested.” 

‘ ‘ This is an important fact, if you can prove it ; for, 
though it might not technically acquit you, it would have its 
effect on the commander-in-chief, when he comes to decide 
on the sentence of this court. ’ ’ 

Raoul hesitated. He did not doubt that Ghita, she whose 
testimony had just proved so serious a matter against him, 
would testify that she believed such was alone his motive ; 
and this, too, in a way, and with corroborative circumstances, 
that would carry weight with them, more particularly as she 
could testify that he had done the same thing before, in the 
Island of Elba, and was even in the practice of paying her 
flying visits at Monte Argentaro. Nevertheless, Raoul felt 
a strong reluctance to have Ghita again brought before the 


286 




court. With the jealous sensitiveness of true love, he was 
averse to subjecting its object to the gaze and comments of 
the rude of his own sex ; then he knew his power over the 
feelings of the girl, and had too much sensibility not to enter 
into all the considerations that might influence a man on a 
point so delicate ; and he could not relish the idea of publicly 
laying bare feelings that he wished to be as sacred to others 
as they were to himself. 

“Can you prove what you have just averred, Raoul 
Yvard ? ” demanded the Judge Advocate. 

“Monsieur, I fear it will not be in my power. There is 
one — but — I much fear it will not be in my power — unless, 
indeed, I am permitted to examine my companion ; he who 
has already been before you.” 

‘ ‘ You mean Ithuel Bolt, I presume. He has not yet been 
regularly before us, but you can produce him, or any other 
witness ; the court reserving to itself the right to decide, 
afterwards, on the merits of the testimony.” 

“Then, Monsieur, I could wish to have Ktooell here.” 

The necessary directions were given, and Ithuel soon stood 
in the presence of his judges. The oath was tendered, and 
Ithuel took it like a man who had done such things before. 

“Your name is Ithuel Bolt?” commenced the Judge 
Advocate. 

“So they call me on board this ship ; but if I am to be a 
witness, let me swear freely ; I lion’t wish to have words put 
into my mouth, or idees chained to me with iron.” 

As this was said, Ithuel raised his arm, and exhibited his 
handcuffs, which the master-at-arms had refused to remove, 
and the officers of the court had overlooked. A reproachful 
glance from Cuffe, and a whisper from Yelverton, disposed 
of the difficulty ; Ithuel was released. 

“Now I can answer more conscientiously,” continued the 
witness, grinning sardonically ; ‘ ‘ when iron is eating into 
the flesh, a man is apt to swear to what he thinks will be 
most agreeable to his masters. Go on, ’squire, if you have 
anything to say.” 

“You appear to be an Englishman.” 

“Do I? Then I appear to be what I am not. I ’m a 


Ming*anC>»HIlinfl 


287 


native of the Granite State, in North America. My fathers 
went to that region, in times long gone by, to uphold their 
religious idees. The whole country thereabouts sets onac- 
countable store by their religious privileges.” 

” Do you know the prisoner, Ithuel Bolt — the person who 
is called Raoul Yvard? ” 

Ithuel was a little at a loss exactly how to answer this 
question. Notwithstanding the high motive which had led 
His fathers into the wilderness, and his own peculiar esti- 
mate of his religious advantages, an oath had got to be 
a sort of convertible obligation with him, ever since the 
day he had his first connection with a custom-house. A 
man who had sworn to so many false invoices, was not 
likely to stick at a trifle in order to serve a friend ; still, by 
denying the acquaintance, he might bring discredit to him- 
self, and thus put it out of his power to be of use to Raoul 
on some more material point. As between himself and the 
Frenchman, there existed a remarkable moral discrepancy ; 
for, while he who prided himself on his religious ancestry 
and pious education, had a singularly pliable conscience, 
Raoul, almost an atheist in opinion, would have scorned 
a simple lie, when placed in a situation that touched his 
honor. In the way of warlike artifices, few men were 
more subtle, or loved to practise them oftener, than Raoul 
Yvard ; but, the mask aside, or when he fell back on his 
own native dignity of mind, death itself could not have 
extorted an equivocation from him. On the other hand, 
Ithuel had an affection for a lie — more especially if it 
served himself, or injured his enemy ; finding a mode of 
reconciling all this to his spirituality, that is somewhat 
peculiar to fanaticism, as it begins to grow threadbare. On 
the present occasion, he was ready to say whatever he 
thought would most conform to his shipmate’s wishes, and 
luckily he construed the expression of the other’s counte- 
nance aright. 

''Ido know the prisoner, as you call him, ’squire,” Ithuel 
answered, after the pause that was necessary to come to his 
conclusion, “I do know him well; and a master crittur 
he is, when he fairly gets into a current of your English 


288 




trade. Had there been a Rule Yvard on board each of the 
Frenchmen at the Nile, over here, in Egypt, Nelson would 
have found that his letter stood in need of some post-cripts, 
I guess.” 

‘ ‘ Confine your answers, witness, to the purport of the 
question,” put in Cuffe, with dignity. 

Ithuel stood too much in habitual awe of the captain of 
his old ship, to venture on an answer ; but if looks could 
have done harm, that important functionary would not have 
escaped altogether uninjured. As he said nothing, the 
examination proceeded. 

“You know him to be Raoul Yvard, the commander of 
the French privateer lugger, Ee Feu-Follet?” continued 
the Judge Advocate, deeming it prudent to fortify his 
record of the prisoner’s confession of identity, with a little 
collateral evidence. 

“Why, I some think” — answered Ithuel, with a peculiar 
provincialism, that had a good deal of granite in it — “ that 
is, I kind o’ conclude” — catching an assent from Raoul’s 
eye — “ O ! yes, of that there is n’t the smallest mite of doubt 
in the world. He ’s the captain of the lugger, and a right 
down good one he is ! ” 

“You were with him in disguise, when he came into the 
Bay of Naples yesterday ? ” 

“I in disguise, ’squire! What have I got to disguise? 
I am an American of different callings, all of which I prac- 
tyse, as convenience demands ; being a neutral, I’ve no 
need of disguises to go anywhere. I am never disguised, 
except when my jib is a little bowsed out ; and that, you 
know, is a come-over that befalls most seafaring men, at 
times. ’ ’ 

“You need answer nothing concerning yourself that will 
tend to criminate you. Do you know with what induce- 
ment, or on what business, Raoul Yvard came into the Bay 
of Naples yesterday ? ’ ’ 

“To own to you the candid truth, ’squire, I do not,” 
answered Ithuel, simply ; for the nature of the tie which 
bound the young Frenchman so closely to Ghita, was a 
profound mystery, in all that related to its more sacred 


MinQ»anb=Min9 289 

feelings, to a being generally so obtuse on matters of pure 
sentiment. 

‘ ‘ Captain Rule is a good deal given to prying about on 
the coast ; and what particular eend he had in view, in this 
expedition, I cannot tell you. His arr’nds in shore, I must 
own, be sometimes onaccountable ! Witness the island of 
Klby, gentlemen.” 

Ithuel indulged in a small laugh, as he made this allusion ; 
for, in his own way, he had a humor in which he occasion- 
ally indulged, after a manner that belonged to the class of 
which he was a conspicuous member. 

“Never mind what occurred at Elba. Prisoner, do you 
wish to question the witness ? ’ ’ 

“Ktuelle,” asked Raoul, “do you not know that I love 
Ghita Caraccioli ? ” 

‘ ‘ Why, Captain Rule, I know you think so, and say so ; 
but I set down all these matters as somewhat various and 
onaccountable.” 

“ Have I not often landed on the enemy’s coast, solely to 
see her and to be near her ? ’ ’ 

By this time, Ithuel, who was a little puzzled at first to 
understand what it all meant, had got his cue, and no wit- 
ness could have acquitted himself better than he did from 
that moment. 

“That you have,” he answered; “a hundred times, at 
least ; and right in the teeth of my advice.” 

“Was not my sole object in coming into the bay yester- 
day, to find Ghita, and Ghita only ? ’ ’ 

“Just so. Of that, gentlemen, there can be no more 
question, than there is about Vesuvius standing up at the 
head of the bay, smoking like a brick-kiln. That was 
Captain Rule’s sole arr’nd.” 

“I just understood ye to say, witness,” put in Tyon, 
“ and that only a bit since, that ye did not know the prison- 
er’s motive in coming into the Bay of Naples. Ye called 
his behavior unaccountable.” 

“Very true, sir, and so it is, to me. I know’d all along 
that love was at the bottom of it ; but I don’t call love 

a motive, while I do call it onaccountable. Tove ’s a feelin’, 
19 


290 


Mtna=*anb^Mina 


and not a nature. That ’s the explanation on ’t. Yes, I 
know’d it was love for Miss Gyty, but then, that ’snot a 
motive, in law. ’ ’ 

“Answer to the facts. The court will judge of the mo- 
tive for itself. How do you know that love for the young 
woman you mention, was Raoul Yvard’s only object in com- 
ing into the bay ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ One finds out such things by keeping company with a 
man. Captain Rule went first to look for the young woman 
up on the mountain yonder, where her aunt lives, and I 
went with him to talk English, if it got to be necessary ; and 
not finding Gyty at home, we got a boat and followed her 
over to Naples. Thus, you see, sir, that I have reason to 
know what craft he was in chase of the whole time. ’ ’ 

As all this was strictly true, Ithuel related it naturally, 
and in a way to gain some credit. 

“You say you accompanied Raoul Yvard, witness, in a 
visit to the aunt of the young woman called Ghita Carac- 
cioli, ’ ’ observed Cuffe, in a careless way, that was intended 
to entrap Ithuel into an unwary answer ; “where did you 
go from, when you set out on your journey? ’’ 

‘ ‘ That would depend on the place one kept his reckoning 
from, and the time of starting. Now, I might say I started 
from Ameriky, which part of the world I left some years 
since; or I might say from Nantes, the port in which we 
fitted for sea. As for Captain Rule, he would probably say 
Nantes.” 

“In what manner did you come from Nantes?” con- 
tinued Cuffe, without betraying resentment at an answer 
that might be deemed impertinent ; or surprise, as if he 
found it difficult to comprehend. “You did not make the 
journey on horseback, I should think ? ” 

“O, I begin to understand you, Captain Cuffe. Why, if 
the truth must be said, we came in the lugger, the Few- 
Folly.” 

“ I supposed as much. And when you went to visit this 
aunt, where did you leave the lugger? ” 

“We didn’t leave her at all, sir ; being under her canvas, 
our feet were no sooner in the boat, and the line cast off. 


M^ng=an^»'^KI^In9 


291 


than she left us as if we had been stuck up like a tree on 
dry ground.” 

” Where did this happen ? ” 

“Afloat, of course, Captain Cuffe; such a thing would 
hardly come to pass ashore.” 

“ All that, I understand ; but you say the prisoner left his 
vessel in order to visit an aunt of the young woman’s; 
thence he went into the bay, for the sole purpose of finding 
the young woman herself. Now, this is an important fact, 
as it concerns the prisoner’s motives, and may affect his life. 
The court must act with all the facts before it ; as a com- 
mencement, tell us where Raoul Yvard left his lugger to go 
on yonder headland.” 

“I do not think, Captain Cufie, you’ve got the story 
exactly right. Captain Rule didn’t go on the mountain, 
a’ ter all, so much to see the aunt as to see the niece at the 
aunt’s dwelling ; if one would eend right in a story, he must 
begin right.” 

“I left Te Feu-Follet, Monsieur le Capitaine,” Raoul 
calmly observed, ‘ ‘ not two cables’ length from the very spot 
where your own ship is now lying ; but it was at an hour of 
the night when the good people of Capri were asleep, and 
they knew nothing of our visit. You see the lugger is no 
longer here.” 

“And do you confirm this story under the solemnity 
of your oath ? ’ ’ demanded Cufie of Ithuel, little imagining 
how easy it was to the witness to confirm anything he saw 
fit, in the way he mentioned. 

“Sartain; every word is true, gentlemen,” answered 
Ithuel. “ It was not more than a cable’s length from this 
very spot, according to my judgment.” 

“And where is the lugger now?” asked Cufie, betraying 
the drift of all his questions, in his eagerness to learn more. 

Ithuel was not to be led on so hurriedly, or so blindly. 
Afiecting a girlish sort of coyness, he answered, simpering : 

“Why, Captain Cufie, I cannot think of answering a 
question like that, under the solemnity of an oath, as you 
call it. No one can know where the little Folly is but them 
that ’s in her.” 


292 


TKIl^na*=an^s'M^na 


Cuffe was a little disconcerted at the answer, while I^yon 
smiled ironically; the latter then took upon himself the 
office of cross-examining, with an opinion of his own pene- 
tration and shrewdness, that at least ought to have made 
him quite equal to encountering one of Ithuel’s readiness in 
subterfuges. 

“We do not expect you to tell us of your own knowl- 
edge, witness, ’ ’ he said, ‘ ‘ precisely the position by latitude 
and longitude, or by the points of the compass, at this iden- 
tical instant, of the craft called by some the Few-Folly, 
by others the Few-Follay, and as it would now seem, by 
yourself, the I^ittle Folly ; for that, as ye ’ve well obsairved, 
can be known only to those who are actually on board her ; 
but ye ’ll be remembering, perhaps, the place it was agreed 
on between you, where ye were to find the lugger at your 
return from this hazardous expedition that ye’ve been mak- 
ing amang ye, into the Bay of Naples ? ” 

“I object to that question as contrary to law,” put in 
Ithuel, with a spirit of promptitude that caused the Judge 
Advocate to start, and the members of the court to look at 
each other in surprise. 

“Nay, if ye object to the question on the ground that a 
true ainswer will be criminating yoursel’, ye ’ll be justified 
in so doing, by reason and propriety ; but then ye ’ll con- 
sider well the consequences it may have on your own case, 
when that comes to be investigated.” 

“I object on gin’ral principles,” said Ithuel. “What- 
ever Captain Rule may have said on the subject, admitting 
that he said anything, just to bear out the argument (by the 
way, Ithuel called this word arg<7c7ment, a pronunciation 
against which we enter our solemn protest) — admitting, I 
say, that he said anything on the subject, it cannot be testi- 
mony, as hearsay evidence is agin law all the world over.” 

The members of the court looked at the Judge Advocate, 
who returned the glance with an air of suitable gravity; 
then, on a motion of Sir Frederick’s, the court was cleared, 
to discuss the point in private. 

“How’s this, Mr. Judge Advocate,” demanded Cuffe, as 
soon as the coast was clear ; “ it is of the last importance to 




293 


find where that lugger is ; do you hold that the question is 
contrary to law ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Its importance makes it pertinent, I think, sir ; as for 
the legality, I do not see how it can be affected by the 
circumstance that the fact came up in discourse.” 

” D’ ye think so? ” observed Sir Frederick, looking much 
more profound than was his wont. “Legality is the boast 
of English law, and I should dislike excessively to fail in that 
great essential. What is said, must be heard, to be repeated ; 
and this seems very like hearsay testimony. I believe it ’s 
admitted all round we must reject that.” 

“What is your opinion, Captain Lyon?” demanded the 
president. 

“The case is somewhat knotty, but it may be untied,” re- 
turned the Scot, with a sneer on his hard features. “No 
need of Alexander and his sword to cut the rope, I ’m think- 
ing, when we bring common-sense to bear on the point. 
What is the matter to be ascertained? Why, the place 
which was agreed on as the point of rendezvous between 
this Rawl Eevart and his people. Now, this arrangement 
must have been made orally, or in writing ; if orally, testi- 
mony to the words uttered will not be hearsay, further than 
testimony to what a man has seen will be eyesight. ’ ’ 

“Quite true, Mr. President and gentlemen!” exclaimed 
the Judge Advocate, who was not a little relieved at finding 
a clue to lead him out of the difficulty. ‘ ‘ If the agreement 
had been made in writing, then that writing would have to 
be produced, if possible, as the best evidence the case affords : 
but, being made in words, those words can be sworn to.” 

Cuffe was much relieved by this opinion, and, as Sir 
Frederick did not seem disposed to push his dissent very far, 
the matter would have been determined on the spot, but for 
a love of disputation that formed part and parcel, to speak 
legally on a legal subject, of Lyon’s moral temperament. 

“I’m agreeing with the Judge Advocate, as to his distinc- 
tion about the admissibility of the testimony on the ground 
of its not being technically what is called hearsay evidence, 
he observed ; ‘ ‘ but a difficulty suggests itself to my mind 
touching the pairtenency. A witness is sworn to speak to 


294 




the point before the court ; but he is not sworn to discuss 
all things in heaven and airth. Now, is it pairtenent to the 
fact of Rawl Bevart’s being a spy, that he made sairtain 
agreements to meet this or that fellow-creature, in this or 
that place ? Now, as I comprehend the law, it divides all 
questions into two great classes — the pairtenent and the 
impairtenent, of which the first are legal and the second 
illegal.” 

“ I think it would be a great piece of audacity,” said Sir 
Frederick, disdainfully, “ for such a fellow as this Bolt to 
pretend to call any question we can put him, impertinent ! ” 

“ That ’s no just the p’int. Sir Frederick ; this being alto- 
gether a matter of law, while ye ’ll be thinking of station and 
etiquette. Then, there ’s two classes of the pairtenent, and 
two of the impairtenent ; one being legal and logical, as 
it might be, and the other conventional and civil, as one may 
say. There’s a nice distinction, latent, between the two.” 

‘ ‘ I believe the court is of opinion that the question may 
be put,” observed Cuffe, who was impatient of the Scotch- 
man’s subtleties, bowing to Sir Frederick, to ask an acqui- 
escence which he immediately received. “ We will reopen 
the doors, and proceed in the examination.” 

“The court is of opinion, witness,” resumed the Judge 
Advocate, when every one was in his place again, “ that you 
must answer the question. In order that you may under- 
stand it, I will now repeat it. Where was it agreed be- 
tween Raoul Yvard and his people, that they should meet 
again ? ’ ’ 

“ I do not think the people of the lugger had anything to 
say in the matter,” answered Ithuel, in the most unmoved 
manner. “ If they had, I knew nothing on ’t.” 

The court felt embarrassed ; but as it would never do to 
be thwarted in this manner, a look of determination was 
exchanged between the members, and the examination 
proceeded. 

“If not the people, the ofiicers, then. Where was it 
agreed between the prisoner and his officers, that the former 
should find the lugger, when he returned from his expedition 
into the bay?” 




295 


**Well, now, gentlemen,” answered Ithuel, turning his 
quid from one cheek into the other, ‘ ‘ I some conclude you ’ ve 
no great acquaintance with Captain Rule, a’ ter all. He is 
not apt to enter into any agreements, at all. What he 
wants done, he orders ; and what he orders, must be done.” 

“What did he order, then, as respects the place where the 
lugger was to wait for his return ? ” 

“ I am sorry to be troublesome, please the court,” re- 
turned the witness, with admirable self-possession ; ‘ ‘ but law 
is law, all over the world, and I rather guess this question is 
agin it. In the Granite State, it is always held, when a 
thing can be proved by the person who said any particular 
words, that the question must be put to him, and not to a 
bystander. ’ ’ 

“Not if that person is a prisoner, and on his trial,” an- 
swered the Judge Advocate, staring to hear such a distinction 
from such a source ; ‘ ‘ though the remark is a good one, in 
the cases of witnesses purely. You must answer, there- 
fore. ’ ’ 

“ It is unnecessary,” again interposed Raoul. “ I left my 
vessel here, where I have told you, and had I made a cer- 
tain signal, the last night, from the heights of St. Agata, Le 
Feu-Follet would have stood in, near to the rocks of the 
Sirens, and taken me off again. As the hour is past, and 
the signal is not likely to be made, it is probable my lieu- 
tenant has gone to another rendezvous, of which the wit- 
ness knows nothing, and which, certainly, I shall never 
betray.” 

There was so much manliness and quiet dignity in Raoul’s 
deportment, that whatever he said made an impression. His 
answer disposed of the matter, for the moment at least. 
The Judge Advocate, accordingly, turned to other inquiries. 
Little remained, however, to be done. The prisoner had 
admitted his identity ; his capture, with all the attendant 
circumstances, was in proof ; and his defence came next. 

When Raoul rose to speak, he felt a choking emotion ; 
but it soon left him, as he commenced in a steady, calm 
tone, his accent giving point and interest to many of his 
expressions. 


296 




“Messieurs,” said he, “I will not deny my name, my 
character, or my manner of life. I am a Frenchman, and 
the enemy of your country. I am also the enemy of the 
king of Naples, in whose territories you found me. I have 
destroyed his and your ships. Put me on board my lugger, 
and I should do both again. Whoever is the enemy of La 
France, is the enemy of Raoul Yvard. Honorable seamen, 
like yourselves. Messieurs, can understand this. I am 
young. My heart is not made of rock ; evil as it may be, 
it can love beauty, and modesty, and virtue, in the other 
sex. Such has been my fate — I love Ghita Caraccioli ; 
have endeavored to make her my wife for more than a year. 
She has not authorized me to say that my suit was favored 
— this I must acknowledge ; but she is not the less admira- 
ble for that. We differ in our opinions of religion, and I 
fear she left Monte Argentaro, because, refusing my hand, 
she thought it better, perhaps, that we should not meet 
again. It is so with maidens, as you must know, Mes- 
sieiurs. But it is not usual for us, who are less refined, to 
submit to such self-denial. I learned whither Ghita had 
come, and followed; my heart was a magnet, that her 
beauty drew after it, as our needles are drawn towards the 
pole. It was necessary to go into the Bay of Naples, 
among the vessels of enemies, to find her I loved ; and this 
is a very different thing from engaging in the pitiful at- 
tempts of a spy. Which of you would not have done the 
same. Messieurs ? You are braves Anglais, and I know you 
would not hesitate. Two of you are still youthful, like my- 
self, and must still feel the power of beauty ; even the Mon- 
sieur that is no longer a young man, has had his moments 
of passion, like all that are bom of woman. Messieurs, I 
have no more to say : you know the rest. If you condemn 
me, let it be as an unfortunate Frenchman, whose heart 
had its weaknesses — not as an ignominious and treacherous 
spy.” 

The earnestness and nature with which Raoul spoke, 
were not without effect. Could Sir Frederick have had his 
way, the prisoner would have been acquitted on the spot. 
But Lyon was skeptical as to the story of love, a sentiment 


Mino==anb==‘limino 


297 


about which he knew very little ; and there was a spirit of 
opposition in him, too, that generally induced him to take 
the converse of most propositions that were started. The 
prisoner was dismissed, and the court closed its doors, to 
make up its decision by itself, in the usual form. 

We should do injustice to Cuffe, if we did not say that 
he had some feeling in favor of the gallant foe who had 
so often foiled him. Could he have had his will at that 
moment, he would have given Raoul his lugger, allowed the 
latter a sufficient start, and then gladly have commenced a 
chase round the Mediterranean, to settle all questions be- 
tween them. But it was too much to give up the lugger as 
well as the prisoner. Then his oath as a judge had its obli- 
gations also, and he felt himself bound to yield to the argu- 
ments of the Judge Advocate, who was a man of technicali- 
ties, and thought no more of sentiment than Tyon himself. 

The result of the deliberation, which lasted an hour, was 
a finding against the prisoner. The court was opened, the 
record made up and read, the offender introduced, and the 
judgment delivered. The finding was, “ that Raoul Yvard 
had been caught in disguise, in the midst of the allied fleets, 
and that he was guilty as a spy. ’ ’ The sentence was, to 
suffer death the succeeding day, by hanging at the yard- 
arm of such ship as the commander-in-chief might select, 
on approving of the sentence. 

As Raoul expected little else, he heard his doom with 
steadiness, bowing with dignity and courtesy to the court, 
as he was led away to be placed in irons, as befitted one 
condemned. 




CHAPTER XIX. 

** The world ’s all title-page ; there ’s no contents ; 

The world ’s all face ; the man who shows his heart 
Is hooted for his nudities, and scorned.” 

Night Thoughts. 

B OET had not been tried. His case had several seri- 
ous difficulties, and the orders allowed of a discre- 
tion. The punishment could scarcely be less than 
death, and, in addition to the loss of a stout, 
sinewy man, it involved questions of natural right, that 
were not always pleasant to be considered. Although the 
impressment of American seamen into the British ships of 
war was probably one of the most serious moral as well as 
political wrongs that one independent nation ever received 
at the hands of another, viewed as a practice of a genera- 
tion’s continuance, it was not wholly without some reliev- 
ing points. There was a portion of the British marine that 
disdained to practise it at all ; leaving it to the coarser 
spirits of the profession to discharge a duty that they them- 
selves found repugnant to their feelings and their habits. 
Thus, we remember to have heard an American seaman say, 
one who had been present on many occasions wdien his 
countrymen were tom from under their flag, that in no in- 
stance he ever witnessed, was the officer who committed the 
wrong of an air and manner that he should describe as be- 
longing to the class of gentlemen, on shore. Whenever one 
of the latter boarded his vessel, the crew was permitted to 
pass unquestioned. 

Eet this be as it might, there is no question that a strong 
and generous feeling existed in the breasts of hundreds in 
the British navy, concerning the nature of the wrong that 

298 




299 


was done a foreign people, by the practice of impressing 
men from under their flag. Although Cufie was too much 
of a martinet to carry his notions on the subject to a very 
refined point, he was too much of a man not to be reluctant 
to punish another for doing what he felt he would have 
done himself, under similar circumstances, and what he 
could not but know he would have had a perfect right to do. 
It was impossible to mistake one like Ithuel, who had so 
many of the Granite peculiarities about him, for anything 
but what he was ; and so well was his national character 
established in the ship, that the sobriquet of The Yankee 
had been applied to him by his shipmates from the very 
first. The fact, therefore, stood him so far in hand, that 
Cufie, after a consultation with Winchester, determined not 
to put the alleged deserter on trial ; but, after letting him 
remain a short time in irons, to turn him to duty again, 
under a pretence that was often used on such occasions, 
namely, to give the man an opportunity of proving his 
American birth, if he were really what he so strenuously 
professed to be. Poor Ithuel was not the only one who was 
condemned to this equivocal servitude, hundreds passing 
weary years of probation, with the same dim ray of hope, 
forever deferred, gleaming in the distance. It was deter- 
mined, however, not to put Ithuel on his trial until the 
captain had conversed with the admiral on the subject, at 
least ; and Nelson, removed from the influence of the siren 
by whom he was enthralled, was a man inclined to leniency, 
and of even chivalrous notions of justice. To such contra- 
dictions is even a great mind subject, when it loses sight of 
the polar star of its duties ! 

When the sentence on Raoul was pronounced, therefore, 
and the prisoner was removed, the court adjourned ; a boat 
being immediately despatched to the Foudroyant with a copy 
of the proceedings, for the rear-admiral’s approbation. Then 
followed a discussion on much the most interesting topic for 
them all ; the probable position of, and the means of cap- 
turing the lugger. That Te Feu-Follet was near, all were 
convinced ; but where she was to be found, it was hard to 
tell. Officers had been sent on the heights of Capri, one of 


300 




which towers more than a thousand feet above the sea ; but 
they returned from a bootless errand. Nothing resembling 
the lugger was visible in the ofiSng, among the islands, or in 
the bays. A cutter had been sent to look round Campanella, 
and another crossed the mouth of the bay, to take a look 
to the northward of Ischia, in order to make certain that 
the treacherous craft had not gone behind the mountains of 
that island for a refuge. In short, no expedient likely to 
discover the fugitive was neglected. All failed, however; 
boat after boat came back, without success, and officer after 
officer returned wearied and disappointed. 

Much of the day was passed in this manner, for it was a 
calm, and moving either of the ships was out of the question. 
In the full expectation of discovering the lugger somewhere 
in striking distance, Cuffe had even gone so far as to detail 
a party from each vessel, with a view to attack her in boats 
again, feeling no doubt of success, now that he had the 
disposable force of three vessels to send against his enemy. 
Winchester was to have commanded, as a right purchased 
by his blood ; nor was the hope of succeeding in this way 
abandoned, until the last boat, that which had been sent 
round Ischia, returned, reporting its total want of success. 

“I have heard it said,” observed Cuffe, as he and his 
brother captains stood conversing together on the quarter- 
deck of the Proserpine, just after this last report had been 
made, ‘ ‘ I have heard it said, that this Raoul Yvard has 
actually gone boldly into several of our ports, under English 
or neutral colors, and lain there a day or two at a time, 
unsuspected, until it has suited him to go out again. Can 
it be possible he is up, off the town ? There is such a fleet 
of craft in and about the mole, that a little lugger, with 
her paint and marks altered, might be among them. What 
think you, Lyon ? ” 

“It is sairtainly a law of nature. Captain Cuffe, that 
smaller objects should be overlooked, in the presence of 
greater ; and such a thing might happen, therefore ; though 
I should place it among the improbables, if not absolutely 
among the impossibles. ’ T would be far safer, nevertheless, 
to run in, in the manner you designate, among the hundred 




301 


or two of ships, than to venture alone into a haven or a 
roadstead. If you wish for retirement, Sir Frederick, plunge 
at once into the Strand, or take lodgings on Fudgate Hill ; 
but if you wish to be noticed and chased, go into a High- 
land village, and just conceal your name for a bit ! Ah, he 
knows the difference well, who has tried both modes of life ! ” 

‘ ‘ This is true, Cuffe,” observed the baronet, “ yet I hardly 
think a Frenchman, big or little, would be apt to come and 
anchor under Nelson’s nose.” 

“ ’ T would be something like the lion’s lying down with 
the lamb, certainly, and ought not to be counted on as very 
likely. Mr. Winchester, is not that our boat coming round 
the sloop’s quarter ? ” 

“Yes, sir; she has got back from Naples — quarter- 
master — ’ ’ 

“Ay, quartermaster!” interrupted Cuffe, sternly, “a 
pretty lookout is this 1 Here is our own boat close in upon 
us, and not a word from your lips on the interesting subject, 
sir I ” 

This word, sir, is much used on board a man-of-war, and 
in all its convertible significations. From the inferior to 
the superior, it comes as natural as if it were a gift from 
above ; from equal to equal, it has a ceremonious and be- 
on-your-guard air, that sometimes means respect, sometimes 
disrespect ; while from a captain to a quartermaster, it always 
means reproof, if it do not mean menace. In discussions of 
this sort, it is wisest for the weaker party to be silent ; and 
nowhere is this truth sooner learned than on shipboard. 
The quartermaster, consequently, made no answer, and the 
gig came alongside, bringing back the officer who had 
carried the proceedings of the court up to Naples. 

“Here we have it,” said Cuffe, opening the important 
document, as soon as he and his brother captains were again 
in the cabin. “Approved: ordered that the sentence be 
carried into execution on board his majesty’s ship the 
Proserpine, Captain Cuffe, to-morrow, between the hours 
of sunrise and sunset.” 

Then followed the date, and the well-known signature 
of “Nelson and Bronte.” All this was what Cuffe both 


302 




wished and expected, though he would have preferred a lit- 
tle more grace in carrying out the orders. The reader is not 
to suppose from this that our captain was either vengeful or 
bloody-minded ; or that he really desired to inflict on Raoul 
any penalty for the manner in which he had baffled his own 
designs and caused his crew to suffer. So far from this, his 
intention was to use the sentence to extort from the prisoner 
a confession of the orders he had given to those left in the 
lugger, and then to use this confession as a means of obtain- 
ing his pardon, with a transfer to a prison-ship. Cuffe had 
had no great veneration for privateersmen, nor was his 
estimate of their morality at all unreasonable, when he 
inferred that one who served with gain for his principal 
object, would not long hesitate about purchasing his own 
life, by the betrayal of a secret like that he now asked. 
Had Raoul belonged even to a republican navy, the English 
man-of-war’s man might have hesitated about carrying out 
his plan ; but, with the master of a corsair, it appeared to be 
the most natural thing imaginable to attempt its execution. 
Both Sir Frederick and Eyon viewed the matter in the same 
light ; and, now that everything was legally done that 
was necessary to the design, the capture of the lugger was 
deemed more than half accomplished. 

“ It is somewhat afflicting, too, Cuffe,” observed Sir Fred- 
erick, in his drawling, indolent way ; “it is somewhat afflict- 
ing, too, Cuffe, to be compelled to betray one’s friends, or to 
be hanged ! In parliament, now, we say we ’ll be hanged if 
we do, and here you may say you ’ll be hanged if you don’t. 

“Poh, poh ! Dashwood; no one expects this Raoul 
Yvard will come to that fate, for no one thinks he will hold 
out. We shall get the lugger, and that will be the end of it. 

I ’d give a thousand pounds to see that d d Few-Folly at 

anchor within pistol-shot of my stern, at this blessed moment. 
My feelings are in the matter.” 

“Five hundred would be a high price,” observed Lyon, 
dryly. “ I much doubt if the shares of us three come to as 
much as a hundred apiece, even should the craft fall into 
our hands.” 

“ By the way, gents,” put in Sir Frederick, gaping, “sup- 


MtnflsanbsMtng 


303 


pose we toss up, or throw the dice, to see which shall have 
all, on supposition we get her within the next twenty-four 
hours, timing the affair by this ship’ s chronometers. You ’ ve 
dice on board, I dare say, Cuffe, and we can make a regular 
time of it, here, for half an hour, and no one the wiser.” 

“Your pardon. Captain Dash wood; I can suffer no such 
amusement. It is unmilitary, and contrary to regulations ; 
and, then, hundreds are not as plenty with Dyon and myself 
as they are with you. I hke to pocket my prize money first, 
and sport on it afterwards.” 

“You ’re right. Captain Cuffe,” said Dyon ; “though 
there can be no great innovation in sporting on Sir Frederick’s 
portion, if he see fit to indulge us. Money is an agreeable 
acquisition beyond a doubt, and life is sweet to saint and 
sinner alike ; but I much question your facility in persuad- 
ing this Monshure Rawl to tell you his secret consaiming 
the lugger, in the manner ye anticipate.” 

This opinion met with no favor ; and after discussing the 
point among themselves a little longer, the three captains 
were on the point of separating, when Griffin burst into the 
cabin, without even knocking, and altogether regardless of 
the usual observances. 

“ One would think it blew a typhoon, Mr. Griffin,” said 
Cuffe, coldly, “by the rate at which you run before it.” 

“ It ’s an ill wind that blows no luck, sir,” answered the 
lieutenant, actually panting for breath, so great had been his 
haste to communicate what he had to say. ‘ ‘ Our lookout, 
on the heights above Campanella, has just signalled us that 
he sees the lugger to the southward and eastward, some- 
where near the point of Piane, I suppose, sir ; and what is 
better, the wind is coming off shore earlier than common this 
evening.” 

“That is news ! ” exclaimed Cuffe, rubbing his hands with 
delight. “ Go on deck, Griffin, and tell Winchester to un- 
moor ; then make a signal to the other ships to do the same. 
Now gentlemen, we have the game in our own hands, and 
let us see and play it skilfully. In a couple of hours it will 
be dark, and our movements can all be made without being 
seen. Ajs the Proserpine is, perhaps, the fastest ship,” — at 




304 

this remark Sir Frederick smiled ironically, while I^yon 
raised his eyebrows like one who saw a marvel — “ as the Pro- 
serpine is, perhaps, the fastest ship, she ought to go the far- 
thest to leeward ; and I will get under way, and stand off to 
sea, keeping well to the northward and eastward, as if I were 
running for the Straits of Bonifacio, for instance, until it gets 
to be dark, when I will haul up south for a couple of hours 
or so ; then come up as high as southeast until we are to the 
southward of the Gulf of Salerno. This will be before day- 
light, if the wind stand. At daylight, then, you may look 
out for me, off Piane, say two leagues and to seaward I hope 
of the lugger. You shall follow. Sir Frederick, just as the 
sun sets, and keep in my wake, as near as possible ; heaving- 
to, however, at midnight. This will bring you fairly abreast 
of the gulf, and about midway between the two capes, a little 
west of south from Campanella. Tyon, you can lie here 
until the night has fairly set in, when you can pass between 
Capri and the cape, and run down south two hours, and 
heave-to. This will place you in a position to watch the 
passage to and from the gulf, under the northern shore.” 

“And this arrangement completed to your satisfaction. 
Captain Cuffe,” asked Tyon, deliberately helping himself to 
an enormous pinch of snuff, “what will be your pleasure in 
the posterior evolutions ? ” 

“ Fach ship must keep her station until the day has fairly 
dawned. Should it turn out, as I trust it may, that we ’ve 
got Te Few-Folly in-shore of us, all we ’ll have to do will be 
to close in upon her, and drive her up higher and higher into 
the bay. She will naturally run into shallow water ; when 
we must anchor off, man the boats, send them north and 
south of her, and let them board her, under cover of our fire. 
If we find the lugger embayed, we’ll have her as sure as 
fate.” 

“ Very prettily conceived. Captain Cuffe ; and in a way to 
be handsomely executed. But if we should happen to find 
the heathen outside of us ? ” 

“Then make sail in chase to seaward, each ship acting 
for the best. Come, gentlemen, I do not wish to be inhospita- 
ble, but the Proserpine must be off. She has a long road 




305 


before her ; and the winds of this season of the year can 
barely be counted on for an hour at a time.” 

Cuffe being in such a hurry, his guests departed without 
further ceremony. As for Sir Frederick, the first thing he 
did was to order dinner an hour earlier than he had in- 
tended, and then to invite his surgeon and marine-officer, 
two capital pairs of knives and forks, to come and share 
it with him, after which he sat down to play somewhat vil- 
lainously on a flute. Two hours later, he gave the necessary 
orders to his first lieutenant ; after which he troubled himself 
very little about the frigate he commanded. Tyon, on the 
other hand, sat down to a very frugal meal alone, as soon 
as he found himself again in his sloop ; first ordering cer- 
tain old sails to be got on deck, and to be mended for the 
eighth or ninth time. 

With the Proserpine it was different. Her capstan-bars 
flew round, and one anchor was actually catted by the time 
her captain appeared on deck. The other soon followed, 
the three topsails fell, were sheeted home and hoisted, and 
sail was set after sail, until the ship went steadily past the 
low promontory of Ana Capri a cloud of canvas. Her 
head was to the westward, inclining a little north ; and had 
there been any one to the southward to watch her move- 
ments, as there was not, so far as the eye could see, it 
would have been supposed that she was standing over to- 
wards the coast of Sardinia, most probably with an inten- 
tion of passing by the Straits of Bonifacio, between that 
island and Corsica. The wind being nearly east, and it 
blowing a good breeze, the progress of the ship was such as 
promised to fulfill all the expectations of her commander. 

As the sun set, and darkness diffused itself over the 
Mediterranean, the lighter steering-sails were taken in, and 
the Proserpine brought the wind abeam, standing south. 
One of the last things visible from the decks, besides the 
mountains of the islands and of the main, the curling 
smoke of Vesuvius, the blue void above and the bluer sea 
below, was the speck of the Terpsichore, as that ship fol- 
lowed, as near as might be, in her wake ; Sir Frederick 
and his friends still at table, but with a vigilant and in- 

20 


$06 




dustrious first lieutenant on deck, who was sufl&cient in him- 
self for all that was required of the vessel in any emergency. 
The latter had his orders, and he executed them with a 
precision and attention that promised to leave nothing to be 
wished for. On the other hand, the people of the Ringdove 
were kept at work mending old sails until the hour to 
‘ ‘ knock off work’ ’ arrived ; then the ship unmoored. At 
the proper time the remaining anchor was lifted, and the 
sloop went through the pass between Capri and Campanella, 
as directed, when Tyon sent for the first lieutenant to join 
him in the cabin. 

“Took you here, McBean,” said Tyon, pointing to the 
chart which lay on the table ; “ Captain Cuffe has just run 
down off Piane, and will find himself well to leeward when 
the west wind comes to-morrow ; Sir Frederick has fol- 
lowed, famously clear of the land, and won’t be in a much 
better box. Now, this lugger must be pretty picking, if 
all they say of her be true. Ten to one but she has gold 
in her. These corsairs are desperate rogues after the siller, 
and, taking hull, sails, armament, head-money, and the 
scrapings of the lockers together, I shouldn’t marvel if she 
come to something as good as ;^8,ooo or ;^io,ooo. This 
would be fair dividing for a sloop, but would amount to a 
painfully small trifle, as between the officers of three ships, 
after deducting the admiral’s share. What are you thinking 
of, Airchy?” 

“ Of just that. Captain Tyon. It would be dividing every 
lieutenant’s share by three, as well as every captain’s.” 

“That ’s it, Airchy, and so ye ’ll have a shairp lookout on 
deck. There ’ll be no occasion to run down quite as far as 
Captain Cuffe suggested, ye ’ll obsairve ; for, if in the bay, 
the lugger will work her way up towards this headland, 
and we’ll be all the more likely to fall in with her, by 
keeping near it ourselves. Ye ’ll take the idea ? ” 

“ It ’s plain enou’. Captain Tyon ; and I ’ll be obsairving 
it. How is the law understood as respects dairkness ? I 
understand that none share but such as are in sight ; but is 
dairkness deemed a legal impediment ? ’ ’ 

“To be sure it is; the idea being that all who can see 




307 


may act. Now, if we catch the lugger before Captain 
Cuffe and Sir Frederick even know where she is, on what 
principle can they aid and sustain us in the capture? ” 

“And you wish a shairp lookout, the night. Captain 
Lyon?” 

“That ’s just it, Airchy. Ye ’ll all be doing your best 
in the way of eyes, and we may get the lugger alone. 
’T would be such a pity, Mr. McBean, to divide by three, 
when the sums might be kept entire ! ” 

Such was the state of feeling with which each of these 
three officers entered on his present duty. Cuffe was ear- 
nest in the wish to catch his enemy, and this principally for 
the credit of the thing, though a little out of a desire to 
revenge his own losses ; Sir Frederick Dash wood, indiffer- 
ent to all but his own pleasures ; and Lyon, closely atten- 
tive to the main chance. An hour or two latter, or just 
before Cuffe turned in, he sent a message to request the 
presence of his first lieutenant, if the latter were still up. 
Winchester was writing up his private journal ; closing the 
book, he obeyed the order, in that quiet, submissive man- 
ner, which a first lieutenant is more apt to use towards his 
captain, than towards any one else. 

“Good evening, Winchester,” said Cuffe, in a familiar, 
friendly way, which satisfied the subordinate that he was 
not sent for to be “ rattled down” ; “draw a chair and try 
a glass of this Capri wine, with some water. It’s not car- 
rying sail hard to drink a gallon of it ; yet I rather think it 
fills up the chinks better than nothing.” 

“Thankee, Captain Cuffe, we like it in the gun-room, 
and got off a fresh cask or two this morning, while the 
court was sitting. So they tell me, sir, his lordship has put 
his name to it, and that this Frenchman is to swing from 
our fore-yard-arm some time to-morrow ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ It stands so on paper, Winchester ; but if he confess 
where his lugger lies, all will go smoothly enough with him. 
However, as things look now, we ’ILhave her, and thanks 
only to ourselves.” 

“Well, sir, that will be best, on the whole. I do not like 
to see a man selling his own people.” 


3o8 




** There you are right enough, Winchester, and I trust 
we shall get along without it ; though the lugger must be 
ours. I sent for you, by the way, about this Bolt ; some- 
thing must be done with that fellow.” 

” It ’s a clear case of desertion. Captain Cuflfe ; and, as it 
would now seem, of treason in the bargain. I would rather 
hang ten such chaps than one man like the Frenchman.” 

“Well, it’s clear, Mr. Winchester, you do not bear mal- 
ice! Have you forgotten Porto Ferrajo, and the boats, 
already? — or do you love them that despitefully use you?” 

“ ’T was all fair service, sir, and one never thinks anything 
of that. I owe this Monsieur Yvard no grudge for what he 
did ; but, now it ’s all fairly over, I rather like him the bet- 
ter for it. But it ’s a very different matter as to this Bolt ; 
a skulking scoundrel, who would let other men fight his 
country’s battles, while he goes a-privateering against Brit- 
ish commerce. ’ ’ 

“Ay, there’s the rub, Winchester! Are they his coun- 
try’s battles ? ” 

‘ ‘ Why, we took him for an Englishman, sir, and we must 
act up to our own professions, in order to be consistent.” 

“And so hang an innocent man for a treason that he 
could not commit ? ’ ’ 

“Why, Captain Cuffe, do you believe the fellow’s whin- 
ing story about his being a Yankee? If that be true, we 
have done him so much injustice already, as to make his 
case a very hard one. For my part I look upon all these 
fellows as only so many disaffected Englishmen, and treat 
them accordingly.” 

“That is a sure way to quiet one’s feelings, Winchester; 
but it ’s most too serious when it comes to hanging. If Bolt 
deserves any punishment, he deserves death ; and that is a 
matter about which one ought to be tolerably certain, before 
he pushes things too far. I ’ve sometimes had my doubts 
about three or four of our people’s being Englishmen, after 
all.” 

“There can be no certainty in these matters, unless one 
could carry a parish register for the whole kingdom in his 
ship, Captain Cuffe. If they are not Englishmen, why do 


Mtn^*=anb:*Mina 


309 


they not produce satisfactory proofs to show it? That is 
but reasonable, you must allow, sir.” 

“I don’t know, Winchester; there are two sides to that 
question, too. Suppose the king of Naples should seize 
you, here, ashore, and call on you to prove that you are not 
one of his subjects. How would you go to work to make 
it out, no parish register being at hand ? ’ ’ 

“Well, then. Captain Cufife, if we are so very wrong, we 
had better give all these men up, at once, though one of 
them is the very best hand in the ship ; I think it right to 
tell you that, sir.” 

“There is a wide difference, sir, between giving a man 
up, and hanging him. We are short-handed as it is, and 
cannot spare a single man. I ’ve been looking over your 
station bills, and they never appeared so feeble before. We 
want eighteen or nineteen good seamen to make them re- 
spectable again ; and though this Bolt is no great matter as 
a seaman, he can turn his hand to so many things, that he 
was as useful as the boatswain. In a word, we cannot spare 
him ; either to let him go, or to hang him ; even were the 
latter just.” 

“I’m sure, sir, I desire to do nothing that is unjust or 
inconvenient, and so act your pleasure in the affair.” 

“My pleasure is just this, then, Winchester. We must 
turn Bolt to duty. If the fellow is really an American, it 
would be a wretched business even to flog him for desertion ; 
and as to treason, you know, there can be none without 
allegiance. Nelson gives me a discretion, and so we ’ll act 
on the safe side, and just turn him over to duty again. 
When there comes an opportunity, I ’ll inquire into the facts 
of his case, and if he can make out that he is not an 
Englishman, why, he must be discharged. The ship will 
be going home in a year or two, when everything can be 
settled fairly and deliberately. I dare say Bolt will not 
object to the terms.” 

“Perhaps not, sir. Then there ’s the crew, Captain Cuffe. 
They may think it strange treason and desertion go unpun- 
ished. These fellows talk and reason more than is always 
known aft.” 


310 


mitna**anb^XlXIltna 


“ I ’ve thought of all that, Winchester. I dare say you 
have heard of such a thing as a king’s evidence? Well, 
here has Raoul Yvard been tried and found guilty as a spy ; 
Bolt having been a witness. A few remarks judiciously 
made, may throw everything off on that tack ; and appear- 
ances will be preserved, so far as discipline is concerned.” 

“Yes, sir, that might be done, it’s true; but an uneasy 
berth will the poor devil have of it, if the people fancy he 
has been a king’s evidence. Men of that class hate a traitor 
worse than they do crime. Captain Cuffe, and they ’ll ride 
Bolt down like the main tack.” 

“Perhaps not; and if they do, ’t will not be as bad as 
hanging. The fellow must think himself luckily out of 
a bad scrape, and thank God for all his mercies. You can 
see that he suffers nothing unreasonable, or greatly out of 
the way. So send an order to the master-at-arms to knock 
the irons off the chap, and send him to duty, before you turn 
in, Winchester.” 

This settled the matter as to Ithuel, for the moment, at 
least. Cuffe was one of those men who was indisposed to 
push things too far, while he found it difficult to do his whole 
duty. There was not an officer in the Proserpine who had 
any serious doubts about the true country of Bolt, though 
there was not one officer among them all who would openly 
avow it. There was too much ‘ ‘ granite ’ ’ about Ithuel to 
permit Englishmen long to be deceived, and that very lan- 
guage on which the impressed man so much prided himself 
would have betrayed his origin, had other evidence been 
wanting. Still there was a tenacity about an English ship 
of war, in that day, that did not easily permit an athletic 
hand to escape its grasp, when it had once closed upon him. 
In a great and enterprising service, like that of Great 
Britain, an esprit de coips existed in the respective ships, 
which made them the rivals of each other, and men being 
the great essentials of efficiency, a single seaman was relin- 
quished with a reluctance that must have been witnessed, 
fully to be understood. Cuffe consequently could not make 
up his mind to do full justice to Ithuel, while he could not 
make up his mind to push injustice so far as trial and pun- 




311 


ishment. Nelson had left him a discretion, as has been said, 
and this he chose to use in the manner just mentioned. 

Had the case of the New Hampshire man been fairly- 
brought before the British admiral, his discharge would 
have been ordered without hesitation. Nelson was too far 
removed from the competition of the several ships, and ordi- 
narily under the control of too high motives, to be accessory 
to the injustice of forcibly detaining a foreigner in his coun- 
try’s service ; for it was only while under a malign influence 
to which there has already been allusion, that he ceased to be 
high-minded and just. Prejudiced he was, and in some cases 
exceedingly so ; America standing but a little better in his 
eyes than France herself. For the first of these antipathies 
he had some apology ; since in addition to the aversion that 
was naturally produced by the history of the cis-Atlantic 
republic, accident had thrown him in the way, in the West 
Indies, of ascertaining the frauds, deceptions, and cupidities 
of a class of men that never exhibit national character in its 
brightest and most alluring colors. Still, he was too upright 
of mind, willingly to countenance injustice, and too chiv- 
alrous to oppress. But Ithuel had fallen into the hands of 
one who fell far short of the high qualities of the admiral, 
while at the same time he kept clear of his more prominent 
weaknesses, and who was brought within the sphere of the 
competition between the respective ships and their crews. 

Winchester, of course, obeyed his orders. He roused the 
master-at-arms from his hammock, and directed him to bring 
Ithuel Bolt to the quarter-deck. 

“ In consequence of what took place this morning,” said 
the first lieutenant, in a voice loud enough to be heard by all 
near him, “ Captain Cuffe has seen fit to order you to be 
released. Bolt, and turned to duty again. You will know 
how to appreciate this leniency, and will serve with greater 
zeal than ever, I make no doubt. Never forget that you 
have been with a yard-rope, as it might be, round your neck. 
In the morning you will be stationed and berthed anew.” 

Ithuel was too shrewd to answer. He fully understood 
the reason why he escaped punishment, and it increased his 
hopes of eventually escaping from the service itself. Still, 


512 




he gagged a little at the idea of passing for one who 
peached, or fora ''State's evidence” as he called it; that 
character involving more of sin, in vulgar eyes, than the 
commission of a thousand legal crimes. This gave Win- 
chester no concern. After dismissing his man, he gossiped 
a minute or two with Yelverton, who had the watch, gaped 
once or twice somewhat provokingly, and, going below, was 
in a deep sleep in ten minutes* 




CHAPTER XX. 

“ White as a "white sail on a dusky sea, 

When half the horizon ’s clouded and half free, 
F'luttering between the dun wave and the sky, 

Is hope’s last gleam in man’s extremity.” 

The Island. 

T he dawning of day, on the morning which suc- 
ceeded, was a moment of great interest on board 
the different English ships which then lay off the 
Gulf of Salerno. Cuffe and Eyon were called, 
according to especial orders left by themselves, while even 
Sir Frederick Dashwood allowed himself to be awakened, to 
hear the report of the officer of the watch. The first was 
up quite half an hour before the light appeared. He even 
went into the main-top again, in order to get as early and as 
wide a survey of the horizon as he wished. Griffin went 
aloft with him, and together they stood leaning against the 
topmast rigging, watching the slow approach of those rays 
which gradually diffused themselves over the whole of a 
panorama that was as bewitching as the hour and the lovely 
accessories of an Italian landscape could render it. 

“I see nothing in-shore,” exclaimed Cuffe, in a tone of 
disappointment, when the light permitted a tolerable view 
of the coast. ‘ ‘ If she should be outside of us our work will 
be only half done ! ’ ’ 

“There is a white speck close in with the land, sir,” 
returned Griffin; “here, in the direction of those rmns, of 
which our gentlemen that have been round in the boats to 
look at, tell such marvels ; I believe, however, it is only a 
felucca or a sparanara. There is a peak to the sail that does 
not look lugger- fashion.” 


313 





314 

‘ ‘ What is this, off here at the northwest, Griffin ? Is it 
too large for the lye Few-Folly ? ” 

“That must be the Terpsichore, sir. It ’s just where she 
ought to be, as I understand the orders ; and I suppose Sir 
Frederick has carried her there. But yonder ’s a sail, in the 
northern board, which may turn out to be the lugger ; she 
is fairly within Campanella, and is not far from the north 
shore of the bay. ’ ’ 

“ By George ! that must be she ; Monsieur Yvard has kept 
her skulking round and about Amalfi, all this time ! fret us 
go down, and set everything that will draw, at once, sir. ’ ’ 

In two minutes Griffin was on deck, hauling the yards, 
and clearing away to make sail. As usual the wind was 
light at the southward again, and the course would be nearly 
before it. Studding-sail booms were to be run out, the sails 
set, and the ship’s head laid to the northward, keeping a 
little to seaward of the chase. At this moment the Proser- 
pine had the Point of Piane, and the little village of Abate, 
nearly abeam. The ship might have been going four knots 
through the water, and the distance across the mouth of the 
bay was something like thirty miles. Of course, eight hours 
would be necessary to carry the frigate over the intervening 
space, should the wind stand, as it probably would not, at 
that season of the year. A week later, strong southerly 
winds might be expected, but that week was as interminable 
as an age, for any present purpose. 

Half an hour’s trial satisfied all on the deck of the Proser- 
pine, that the chase was keeping off, like themselves, and 
that she was standing towards the mountains of Amalfi. 
Her progress, too, was about equal to that of the frigate, 
for, dead before the wind, the latter ship was merely a good 
sailer; her great superiority commencing only when she 
brought the breeze forward of the beam. It had been sup- 
posed that the stranger, when first seen, was about fifteen 
miles distant, her canvas appearing both small and shape- 
less ; but some doubts now began to be entertained, equally 
as to her rig, her size, and her distance. If a large or a lofty 
vessel, of course she must be materially farther off, and if a 
large or lofty vessel it could not be Te Feu-Follet. 




315 


The other frigate took her cue from the Proserpine, and 
stood across for the northern side of the gulf; a certain 
proof that nothing was visible, from her mast-heads, to lead 
her in any other direction. Two hours, however, satisfied 
all on board the latter ship, that they were on a wrong 
scent, and that the vessel to leeward was their own consort, 
the sloop ; Tyon having, in his eagerness to get the prize 
before she could be seen from the other ships, carried the 
Ringdove quite within the bay, and thus misled Cuffe and 
Sir Frederick. 

‘ ‘ There can no longer be any doubt ! ’ ’ exclaimed the 
captain of the Proserpine, dropping his glass, with vexation 
too strongly expressed in his manner to be mistaken ; ‘ ‘ that 
is a ship ; and as you say, Winchester, it must be the 
Ringdove ; though what the devil Tyon is doing away in 
there with her, unless he sees something close under the 
land, is more than I can tell. As there is clearly nothing in 
this quarter, we will stand on, and take a look for ourselves.” 

This nearly destroyed the hope of success. The officers 
began to suspect that their lookout on Campanella had been 
deceived, and that what he had supposed to be a lugger, 
was, in truth, a felucca, or perhaps a xebec, a craft which 
might well be mistaken for a lugger, at the distance of a few 
leagues. The error, however, was with those in the ship. 
The officer sent upon the heights was a shrewd, practised 
master’s-mate, who knew everything about his profession 
that properly came within his line, and knew little else. 
But for a habit of drinking, he would long since have been 
a lieutenant, being, in truth, an older sailor than Winchester ; 
but, satisfied of his own infirmity, and coming from a class 
in life in which preferment was viewed as a God-send rather 
than as a right, he had long settled down into the belief that 
he was to live and die in his present station, thereby losing 
most of the desire to rise. The name of this man was 
Clinch. In consequence of his long experience, within the 
circle of his duties, his opinion was greatly respected by his 
superiors, when he was sober ; and, as he had the precaution 
not to be otherwise when engaged on service, his weakness 
seldom brought him into any serious difficulties. Cuffe, as 


3i6 




a last hope, had sent him up on the heights of Campanella, 
with a perfect conviction that, if anything were really in 
sight, he would not fail to see it. All this confidence, how- 
ever, had now ended in disappointment ; and, half an hour 
later, when it was announced to Cuffe, that “the cutter, 
with Mr. Clinch, was coming down the bay towards them,” 
the former even heard the name of his drunken favorite with 
disgust. As was usual with him, when out of humor, he 
went below as the boat drew near, leaving orders for her 
ofiicer to be sent down to him, the instant the latter got on 
board. Five minutes later, Clinch thrust his hard-looking, 
weather-beaten, but handsome red countenance in at the 
cabin-door. 

“Well, sir,” commenced the captain, on a tolerably high 

key, “a d d pretty wild-goose chase you’ve sent us all 

on, down here, into this bay ! The southerly wind is fail- 
ing already, and, in half an hour, the ships will be frying 
the pitch off their decks, without a breath of air ; when the 
wind does come, it will come out at west, and bring us all 
four or five leagues dead to leeward ! ’ ’ 

Clinch’s experience had taught him the useful man-of-war 
lesson, to bow to the tempest, and not to attempt to brave 
it. Whenever he was “rattled down,” as he called it, he 
had the habit of throwing an expression of surprise, com- 
ically blended with contrition, into his countenance, that 
seemed to say, “What have I done now? ” or, “ If I have 
done anything amiss, you see how sorry I am for it.” He 
met his irritated commander, on the present occasion, with 
this expression, and it produced the usual effect of mollify- 
ing him a little. 

“Well, sir ; explain this matter, if you please,” continued 
Cuffe, after a moment’s hesitation. 

“Will you please to tell me, sir, what you wish ex- 
plained?” inquired Clinch, throwing more surprise than 
common, even, into his countenance. 

“That is an extraordinary question, Mr. Clinch ! I wish 
the signal you made from yonder headland explained, sir. 
Did you not signal the ship, to say that you saw the Te 
Few-Folly down here, at the southward?” 




317 


‘'Well, sir, I ’m glad there was no mistake in the matter,” 
answered Clinch, in a confident and a relieved manner. “ I 
was afraid at first. Captain Cnffe, my signal had not been 
understood.” 

‘ ‘ Understood ! How could it be mistaken ? You showed 
a black ball, for ‘ The lugger ’s in sight.* You ’ll not deny 
that, I trust ? ’ ’ 

“No, sir; one black ball, for ‘The lugger ’s in sight.’ 
That ’s just what I did show. Captain Cuffe.” 

“And three black balls together, for ‘ She bears due south 
from Capri.’ What do you say to that? ” 

“All right, sir. Three black balls together, for ‘She 
bears due south from Capri.’ I didn’t tell the distance, 
Captain Cuffe, because Mr. Winchester gave me no signals 
for that.” 

“And these signals you kept showing every half-hour, 
as long as it was light ; even until the Proserpine was off.” 

“All according to orders. Captain Cuffe, as Mr. Win- 
chester will tell you. I was to repeat every half-hour, as 
long as the lugger was in sight, and the day lasted.” 

“Ay, sir; but you were not ordered to send us after a 
jack-o’-lantern, or to mistake some xebec or other, from one 
of the Greek islands, for a light, handy Trench lugger.” 

“Nor did I, Captain Cuffe, begging your pardon, sir. I 
signalled the Few-Folly, and nothing else, I give you my 
word for it. ’ ’ 

Cuffe looked hard at the master’s-mate for half a minute, 
and his ire insensibly lessened as he gazed. 

“You are too old a seaman, Clinch, not to know what 
you were about ! If you saw the privateer, be good enough 
to tell us what has become of her.” 

‘ ‘ That is more than I can say, Captain Cuffe, though see 
her I did ; and that so plainly, as to be able to make out her 
jigger, even. You know, sir, we shot away her jigger- 
mast in the chase off Elba, and she got a new one, that 
Steves for’ard uncommonly. I noticed that when we fell in 
with her in the Canal of Piombino ; and seeing it again, 
could not but know it. But there ’s no mistaking the saucy 
Folly, for them that has once seen her ; and I am certain we 




31S 

made her out, about four leagues to the southward of the 
cape, at the time I first signalled.’’ 

‘ ‘ Four leagues ! I had thought she must be at least 
eight or ten, and kept off that distance, to get her in the net. 
Why did you not let us know her distance ? ” 

“ Had no signals for that. Captain Cuffe.” 

“Well, then, why not send a boat to tell us the fact ? ” 

“Had no orders, sir. Was told by Mr. Winchester just 
to signal the lugger and her bearings ; and this, you must 
own. Captain Cuffe, we did plain enough. Besides, sir — ’’ 

“Well; besides what?” demanded the captain, observ- 
ing that the master’s-mate hesitated. 

‘ ‘ Why, sir, how was I to know that any one in the ship 
would think a lugger could be seen eight or ten leagues ? 
That’s a long bit of water, sir ; and it would take a heavy 
ship’s spars to rise high enough for such a sight.” 

“The land you were on. Clinch, was much loftier than 
any vessel’s spars.” 

“Quite true, sir; but not lofty enough for that. Captain 
Cuffe. That I saw the Folly, I ’m as certain as I am of be- 
ing in this cabin. ’ * 

“What has become of her, then? You perceive she is 
not in the bay now.” 

“I suppose. Captain Cuffe, that she stood in until near 
enough for her purpose, and that she must have hauled off 
the land after the night set in. There was plenty of room 
for her to pass out to sea again, between the two frigates, 
and not be seen in the dark. ’ ’ 

This conjecture was so plausible, as to satisfy Cuffe ; yet 
it was not the fact. Clinch had made l^e Feu-Follet, from 
his elevated post, to the southward, as his signal had said ; 
and he was right in all his statements about her, until dark- 
ness concealed her movements. Instead of passing out of 
the bay, as he imagined, however, she had hauled up within 
a quarter of a league of Campanella, doubled that point, 
brushed along the coast to the northward of it, fairly within 
the Bay of Naples, and pushed out to sea between Capri and 
Ischia, going directly athwart the anchorage the men-of-war 
had so recently quitted, in order to do so. 




319 


When Raoul quitted his vessel, he ordered her to stand 
directly off the land, just keeping Ischia and Capri in view, 
lying- to under her jigger. As this was low sail, and a lug- 
ger shows so little aloft, it was a common expedient of 
cruisers of that rig, when they wished to escape observation. 
Monsieur Pintard, Raoul’s first lieutenant, had expected a 
signal from his commander, at the very spot where Clinch 
had taken his station ; but seeing none, he had swept along 
the coast after dark, in the hope of discovering his position 
by the burning of a blue light. Failing of this, however, he 
went off the land again, in time to get an offing before 
the return of day, and to save the wind. It was the bold- 
ness of the manoeuvre that saved the lugger; kyon going 
out through the pass between Capri and Campanella, about 
twenty minutes before Pintard brushed close round the 
rocks, under his jigger and jib only, anxiously looking out 
for a signal from his captain. The Frenchmen saw the 
sloop-of-war quite plainly, and by the aid of their night- 
glasses ascertained her character, mistaking her, however, 
for another ship, bound to Sicily or Malta ; while their own 
vessel escaped observation, owing to the little sail she carried, 
the want of hamper, and her situation so near the land, 
which gave her a background of rocks. Clinch had not seen 
the movements of the lugger after dark, in consequence 
of his retiring to the village of St. Agata, to seek lodgings, 
as soon as he perceived that his own ship had gone to sea, 
and left him and his boat’s crew behind. The following 
morning, when he made the ship to the southward, he pushed 
off, and pulled towards his proper vessel, as related. 

‘ ‘ Where did you pass the night. Clinch ? ’ ’ demanded the 
captain, after they had discussed the probability of the lugger’ s 
escape. “ Not on the heights, under the canopy of heaven ? ’ ’ 

“On the heights, and under the great canopy that has 
covered us both so often. Captain Cuffe ; but with a good 
Neapolitan mud-roof between it and my head. As soon as 
it was dark, and I saw that the ship was off, I found a vil- 
lage, named St. Agata, that stands on the heights, just 
abeam of those rocks they call the Sirens, and there we were 
well berthed until morning.’’ 


320 




“You are lucky in bringing back all the boat’s crew, 
Clinch. You know it’s low water with us as to men, just 
now ; and our fellows are not all to be trusted ashore, in a 
country that is full of stone walls, good wine, and pretty 
girls.’’ 

“I always take a set of regular steady ones with me, 
Captain Cuffe ; I haven’t lost a man from a boat these five 
years.’’ 

“You must have some secret, then, worth knowing ; for 
even the admirals sometimes lose their barge-men. I dare 
say, now, yours are all married chaps, that hold on to their 
wives as so many sheet anchors ; they say that is often a 
good expedient.’’ 

“ Not at all, sir. I did try that, till I found that half the 
fellows would run to get rid of their wives. The Ports- 
mouth and Plymouth marriages don’t always bring large 
estates with them, sir, and the bridegrooms like to cut adrift 
at the end of the honeymoon. Don’t you remember when 
we were in the Blenheim together, sir, we lost eleven of the 
launch’s crew at one time ; and nine of them turned out 
to be vagabonds, sir, that deserted their weeping wives and 
suffering families at home ! ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Now you mention it, I do remember something of the 
sort ; draw a chair. Clinch, and take a glass of grog. Tim, 
put a bottle of Jamaica before Mr. Clinch. I have heard it 
said that you are married yourself, my gallant master’s- 
mate?’’ 

“Tord, Captain Cuffe, that ’s one of the young gentle- 
men’s stories ! If a body believed all they say, the Chris- 
tian religion would soon get athwart-hawse, and mankind be 
all adrift in their morals,’’ answered Clinch, smacking his 
lips, after a very grateful draught. “We’ve a regular set 
of high-flyers aboard this ship, at this blessed minute. Cap- 
tain Cuffe, sir, and Mr. Winchester has his hands full of 
them. I often wonder at his patience, sir.’’ 

“We were young once ourselves. Clinch, and ought to be 
indulgent to the follies of youth. But what sort of a berth 
did you find last night upon the rocks yonder ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Why, sir, as good as one can expect out of Old ^ng- 


Ming-anb-minc 


321 


land. I fell in with an elderly woman calling herself 
Giuntotardi— which is regiilar built Italian, isn’t it, sir? ” 
That it is ; but, you speak the language, I believe. 
Clinch?” 

“Why, sir, I’ve been drifting about the world so long, 
that I speak a little of everything, finding it convenient 
when I stand in need of victuals and drink. The old lady 
on the hill and I overhauled a famous yarn between us, sir. 
It seems she has a niece and a brother at Naples, who 
ought to have been back night before last ; and she was 
in lots of tribulation about them, wanting to know if our 
ship had seen anything of the rovers.” 

“ By George, Clinch, you were on the soundings there, 
had you but known it ! Our prisoner has been in that part 
of the world, and we might get some clue to his manoeuvres, 
by questioning the old woman closely. I hope you parted 
good friends ? ’ ’ 

“The best in the world. Captain Cuffe. No one that 
feeds and lodges me well, need dread me as an enemy ! ” 

“I ’ll warrant it ! That’s the reason you are so loyal, 
Clinch? ” 

The hard, red face of the master’s-mate worked a little, 
and though he could not well look all sorts of colors, he 
looked all ways but in his captain’s eye. It was now ten 
years since he ought to have been a lieutenant, having once 
actually outranked Cuffe, in the way of date of service 
at least ; and his conscience told him two things quite dis- 
tinctly : first, the fact of his long and weary probation ; 
second, that it was, in a great degree, his own fault. 

“I love his majesty, sir,” Clinch observed, after giving 
a gulp, “ and I never lay anything that goes hard with my- 
self to his account. Still, memory will be memory ; and 
spite of all I can do, sir, I sometimes remember what I 
might have been, as well as what I am. If his majesty does 
feed me, it is with the spoon of a master’s-mate ; and if he 
does lodge me, it is in the cockpit.” 

“I have been your shipmate often, and for years at a 
time,” answered Cuffe, good-naturedly, though a little in 
the manner of a superior ; “ and no one knows your history 


322 




better. It is not your friends who have failed you at need, 
so much as a certain enemy, with whom you will insist on 
associating, though he harms them most who love him best.” 

“Ay, ay, sir; that can’t be denied. Captain Cuffe; yet 
it ’s a hard life that passes altogether without hope.” 

This was uttered with an expression of melancholy that 
said more for Clinch’s character than Cuffe had witnessed in 
the man for years, and it revived many early impressions in 
his favor. Clinch and he had once been messmates, even ; 
and though years of a decided disparity in rank had since 
interposed their barrier of etiquette and feeling, Cuffe never 
could entirely forget the circumstance. 

“It is hard, indeed, to live as you say, without hope,” 
returned the captain ; “ but hope ought to be the last thing 
to die. You should make one more rally. Clinch, before you 
throw up in despair.” 

“ It is not so much for myself. Captain Cuffe, that I mind 
it, as for some that live ashore. My father was as reputable 
a tradesman as there was in Plymouth, and when he got me 
on the quarter-deck he thought he was about to make a 
gentleman of me, instead of leaving me to pass a life in a 
situation that may be said to be even beneath what his own 
was.” 

“ Now you undervalue your station. Clinch. The berth 
of a master’s-mate in one of his majesty’s finest frigates, is 
something to be proud of ; I was once a master’s-mate — nay. 
Nelson has doubtless filled the same station. For that mat- 
ter, one of his majesty’s own sons may have gone through 
the rank.” 

“Ay, gone through it, as you say, sir,” returned Clinch, 
with a husky voice. “ It does well enough for them that go 
through it, but it ’s death to them that stick. It ’s a feather 
in a midshipman’s cap to be rated a mate ; but it ’s no honor 
to be a mate at my time of life. Captain Cuffe.” 

“What’s your age. Clinch? You are not much my 
senior? ” 

“Your senior, sir! The difference in our years is not 
as great as in our rank, certainly, though I never shall see 
thirty-two again. But it ’s not so much that^ after all, as the 




323 


thoughts of my poor mother, who set her heart on seeing me 
with his majesty’s commission in my pocket ; and of another, 
who set her heart on one that I ’m afraid was never worthy 
her affection. ’ ’ 

“This is new to me, Clinch,” returned the captain, with 
interest. “ One so seldom thinks of a master’s-mate marry- 
ing, that the idea of your being in that way has never crossed 
my mind, except in the manner of a joke.” 

“Master’s-mates have married. Captain Cuffe, and they 
have ended in being very miserable. But Jane, as well as 
myself, has made up her mind to live single, imless we can 
see brighter prospects before us than what my present hopes 
afford.” 

“Is it quite right. Jack, to keep a poor young woman 
towing along in this uncertainty, during the period of life 
when her chances for making a good connection are the 
best ?” 

Clinch stared at his commander until his eyes filled with 
tears. The glass had not touched his lips since the conver- 
sation took its present direction ; and the usual hard, settled 
character of his face was becoming expressive, once more, 
with human emotions. 

“It’s not my fault, Captain Cuffe,” he answered, in a low 
voice ; “ it ’s now quite six years since I insisted on her giv- 
ing me up ; but she would n’t hear of the thing. A very 
respectable attorney wished to have her, and I even prayed 
her to accept his offer ; and the only unkind glance I ever 
got from her eye, was when she heard me make a request 
that she told me sounded impiously almost to her ears. She 
would be a sailor’s wife or die a maid.” 

“ The girl has unfortunately got some romantic notions 
concerning the profession. Clinch ; and they are ever the 
hardest to be convinced of what is for their own good.” 

“Jane Weston ! Not she, sir. There is not as much 
romance about her as in the fly-leaves of a prayer-book. She 
is all heart, poor Jane ; and how I came to get such a hold of 
it. Captain Cuffe, is a great mystery to myself. I certainly 
do not deserve half her affection, and I now begin to despair 
of ever being able to repay her for it.” 


324 




Clincli was still a handsome man, though exposure and 
his habits had made some inroads on a countenance that 
by nature was frank, open, and prepossessing. It now 
expressed the anguish that occasionally came over his heart, 
as the helplessness of his situation presented itself fully to his 
mind. Cuffe’s feelings were touched, for he remembered the 
time when they were messmates, with a future before them 
that promised no more to the one than to the other, the diff- 
erence in the chances which birth afforded the captain, alone 
excepted. Clinch was a prime seaman, and as brave as 
a lion, too ; qualities that secured to him a degree of respect 
that his occasional self-forgetfulness had never entirely for- 
feited. Some persons thought him the most skilful mariner 
the Proserpine contained ; and perhaps this was true, if the 
professional skill were confined strictly to the handling of 
a ship, or to taking care of her on critical occasions. All 
these circumstances induced Cuffe to enter more closely into 
the master’s-mate’s present distress than he might otherwise 
have done. Instead of shoving the bottle to him, however, 
as if conscious how much disappointed hope had already 
driven the other to its indiscreet use, he pushed it gently 
aside, and taking his old messmate’s hand with a momentary 
forgetfulness of the difference in rank, he said in a tone of 
kindness and confidence that had long been strangers to 
Clinch’s ears, — 

“Jack, my honest fellow, there is good stuff in you yet, 
if you will only give it fair play. Make a manly rally, re- 
spect yourself for a few months, and something will turn up 
that will yet give you your Jane, and gladden your old 
mother’s heart.” 

There are periods in the lives of men, when a few kind 
words, backed by a friendly act or two, might save thou- 
sands of human beings from destruction. Such was the 
crisis in the fate of Clinch. He had almost given up hope, 
though it did occasionally revive in him, whenever he got 
a cheering letter from the constant Jane, who pertinaciously 
refused to believe anything to his prejudice, and religiously 
abstained from all reproaches. But it is necessary to under- 
stand the influence of rank on board a man-of-war, fully 




325 


to comprehend the effect which was now produced on 
the master’s-mate by the captain’s language and manner. 
Tears streamed out of the eyes of Clinch, and he grasped the 
hand of his commander, almost convulsively. 

‘ ‘ What can I do, sir ? Captain Cuffe, what can I do ? ” he 
exclaimed. ‘ ‘ My duty is never neglected ; but there are 
moments of despair, when I find the burden too hard to be 
borne, without calling upon the bottle for support.” 

‘ ‘ Whenever a man drinks with such a motive, Clinch, I 
would advise him to abstain altogether. He cannot trust 
himself ; and that which he terms his friend is, in truth, his 
direst enemy. Refuse your rations, even ; determine to be 
free. One week, nay, one day, may give a strength that 
will enable you to conquer, by leaving your reason unim- 
paired. Absence from the ship has accidentally befriended 
you ; for the little you have taken here has not been sufficient 
to do any harm. We are now engaged on a most interesting 
duty, and I will throw service into your way that may be 
of importance to you. Get your name once fairly in a des- 
patch, and your commission is safe. Nelson loves to prefer 
old tars ; and nothing would make him happier than to be 
able to serve you. Put it in my power to ask it of him, and 
I ’ll answer for the result. Something may yet come out of 
your visit to the cottage of this woman, and do you be mind- 
ful to keep yourself in fortune’s way.” 

” God bless you. Captain Cuffe ; God bless you, sir,” an- 
swered Clinch, nearly choked ; “I ’ll endeavor to do as you 
wish.” 

“ Remember Jane and your mother. With such a woman 
dependent for her happiness on his existence, a man must 
be a brute not to struggle hard.” 

Clinch groaned — for Cuffe probed his wound deep, though 
it was done with an honest desire to cure. After wiping the 
perspiration from his face, and writhing on his chair, how- 
ever, he recovered a little of his self-command, and became 
comparatively composed. 

* ‘ If a friend could only point out the way by which I 
might recover some of the lost ground,” he said, “ my grati- 
tude to him would last as long as life. Captain Cuffe.” 


326 




“Here is an opening then, Clinch. Nelson attaches as 
much importance to our catching this lugger as he ever did 
to falling in with a fleet. The officer who is serviceable on 
this occasion may be sure of being remembered, and I will 
give you every chance in my power. Go, dress yourself in 
your best ; make yourself look as you know you can ; then 
be ready for boat service. I have some duty for you now, 
which will be but the beginning of good luck, if you only 
remain true to your mother, to Jane, and to yourself.” 

A new life was infused into Clinch. For years he had 
been overlooked — apparently forgotten, except when thor- 
ough seamanship was required ; and even his experiment 
of getting transferred to a vessel commanded by an old 
messmate had seemingly failed. Here was a change, how- 
ever, and a ray, brighter than common, shone athwart the 
darkness of his future. Even Cuffe was struck with the 
cheerfulness of his countenance, and the alacrity of the 
master’s-mate’s movements ; and he reproached himself with 
having so long been indifferent to the best interests of one 
who certainly had some claims on his friendship. Still, 
there was nothing unusual in the present relations between 
these old messmates. Favored by family and friends, Cuffe 
had never been permitted to fall into despondency, and had 
pursued his career successfully and with spirit ; while the 
other, unsupported, and failing of any immediate oppor- 
tunity for getting ahead, had fallen into evil ways, and 
come to be, by slow degrees, the man he was. Such 
instances as the latter are of not unfrequent occurrence even 
in a marine in which promotion is as regular as our own, 
though it is rare indeed that a man recovers his lost ground, 
when placed in circumstances so trying. 

In half an hour Clinch was ready, dressed in his best. 
The gentlemen of the quarter-deck saw all these prepa- 
rations with surprise ; for, of late, the master’s-mate had 
seldom been seen in that part of the ship at all. But, in a 
man-of-war, discipline is a matter of faith, and no one pre- 
sumed to ask questions. Clinch was closeted with the cap- 
tain for a few minutes, received his orders, and went over 
the ship’s side with a cheerful countenance, actually enter- 


‘IKIl^ngssan^^Mtn0 


327 


ing the captain’s gig, the fastest rowing boat of the ship. 
As soon as seated, he shoved off, and held his way towards 
the point of Campanella, then distant about three leagues. 
No one knew whither he was bound, though all believed it 
was on duty that related to the lugger, and duty that re- 
quired a seaman’s judgment. As for Cuffe, his manner, 
which had begun to be uneasy and wandering, became more 
composed when he saw his old messmate fairly off, and that, 
too, at a rate which would carry him even to Naples in 
the course of a few hours, should his voyage happen to be 
so long. 




CHAPTER XXI. 

“ His honor ’s linked 
Unto his life ; he that will seek the one 
Must venture for the other, or lose both.’* 

TaTham. 


I T was now certain that Ee Eeu-Eollet was not in the 
Bay of Salerno. By means of the lofty spars of the 
ship, and the aid of glasses, the whole coast had been 
effectually surveyed, and no signs of such a craft were 
visible. Even Eyon had given it up, had wore round, and 
was standing along the land again, towards Campanella, a 
disappointed man. As Cuflfe expected the next wind from 
the westward, he continued on to the northward, however, 
intending to go off Amalfi and question any fisherman he 
might fall in with. Eeaving the ship slowly pursuing her 
course in that direction, then, we will turn our attention to 
the state of the prisoners. 

Ghita and her uncle had been properly cared for all this 
time. The gunner’s wife lived on board, and, being a re- 
spectable woman, Cuffe had the delicacy to send the poor 
girl forward to the state-room and mess of this woman. 
Her uncle was provided for near by, and, as neither was 
considered in any degree criminal, it was the intention to 
put them ashore as soon as it was certain that no informa- 
tion concerning the lugger was to be obtained from them. 
Ithuel was at duty again, having passed half the morning 
in the fore-top. The shore-boat, which was in the way on 
deck, was now struck into the water, and was towing astern, 
in waiting for the moment when Carlo Giuntotardi and his 
niece were to be put in possession of it again, and permitted 
to depart, This moment was delayed, however, until the 

328 


i 




329 


ship should, again double Campanella, and be once more in 
the Bay of Naples, as it would have been cruel to send two 
such persons as the uncle and niece adrift at any material 
distance from their proper place of landing. 

It was very different with Raoul Yvard, however. He 
was under the charge of a sentry on the berth-deck, in wait- 
ing for the fearful moment when he should be brought forth 
for execution. His sentence was generally known in the 
ship, and with a few he was an object of interest ; though 
punishment, deaths in battle, and all other casualties of 
nautical life, were much too familiar in such a war to 
awaken anything like a sensation in an active cruising 
frigate. Still, some had a thought for the prisoner’s situa- 
tion. Winchester was a humane man, and, to his credit, he 
bore no malice for his own defeat and sufferings ; while in 
his capacity of first lieutenant, it was in his power to do 
much towards adding to the comfort of the condemned. He 
had placed the prisoner between too open ports, where the 
air circulated freely, no trifling consideration in so warm a 
climate, and had ordered a canvas bulkhead to be placed 
around him, giving Raoul the benefit of a state-room for his 
meditations at so awful a moment. His irons, too, had been 
removed as useless ; though care had been had to take away 
from the prisoner everything by which he might attempt 
his own life. The probability of his jumping through a 
port had been discussed between the first and second lieu- 
tenants ; but the sentry was admonished to be on his guard 
against any such attempt, and little apprehension was felt, 
Raoul being so composed and so unlikely to do anything 
precipitately. Then it would be easy to pick him up, while 
the vessel moved so slowly. To own the truth, too, many 
would prefer his drowning himself, to seeing him swinging 
at a yard-arm. 

In this narrow prison, then, Raoul passed the night and 
morning. It would be representing him as more stoical than 
the truth, if we said he was unmoved. So far from this, 
his moments were bitter, and his anguish would have been 
extreme, where it not for a high resolution which prompted 
him to die, as he fancied it, like un Frangais. The numer- 


330 




ous executions by the guillotine had brought fortitude under 
such circumstances into a sort of fashion, and there were 
few who did not meet death with decorum. With our 
prisoner, however, it was still different ; for, sustained by a 
dauntless spirit, he would have faced the great tyrant of 
the race, even in his most ruthless mood, with firmness, if 
not with disdain. But, to a young man and a lover, the 
last great change could not well approach without bringing 
with it a feeling of hopelessness, that, in the case of Raoul, 
was unrelieved by any cheering expectations of the future. 
He fully believed his doom to be sealed, and that, less on 
account of his imaginary offence as a spy, than on account 
of the known and extensive injuries he had done to the 
English commerce. Raoul was a good hater ; and, accord- 
ing to the fashion of past times, which we apprehend, in 
spite of a vast deal of equivocal philanthropy that now 
circulates freely from mouth to mouth, and from pen to pen, 
will continue to be the fashion of times to come, he heartily 
disliked the people with whom he was at war, and conse- 
quently, was ready to believe anything to their prejudice 
that political rivalry might invent ; a frame of mind that 
led him to think his life would be viewed as a trifle, when 
put in the scales against English ascendency or English 
profit. He was accustomed to think of the people of Great 
Britain as a “ nation of shopkeepers, ’ ’ and, while engaged 
himself in a calling that bears the brand of rapacity on its 
very brow, he looked upon his own pursuit as comparatively 
martial and honorable ; qualities, in sooth, it was far from 
being without, as he himself had exercised its functions. 
In a word, Raoul understood Cuffe, as little as Cuffe under- 
stood him ; facts that will sufficiently appear in the inter- 
view which it has now become our office to relate. 

The prisoner received one or two friendly visits in the 
course of the morning ; Griffin, in particular, conceiving it 
to be his duty to try to cheer the condemned man, on ac- 
count of his own knowledge of foreign tongues. On these 
occasions the conversation was prevented from falling into 
anything like the sombre, by the firmness of the prisoner’s 
manner. With a view to do the thing handsomely, Win- 




331 

Chester had caused the canvas bulkhead to include the guns 
on each side, which of course gave more air and light within 
the narrow apartment, as it brought both ports into the little 
room. Raoul adverted to this circumstance, as, seated on 
one stool, he invited Griffin, in the last of his visits, to take 
another. 

“You find me here, supported by a piece of eighteen on 
each side,” observed the prisoner, smiling, “as becomes a 
seaman who is about to die. Were my death to come from 
the mouths of your cannon. Monsieur I^ieutenant, it would 
only meet me a few months, or perhaps a few days sooner 
than it might happen by the same mode in the ordinary 
course of events.” 

“We know how to feel for a brave man in your situa- 
tion, ’ ’ answered Griffin, with emotion ; ‘ ‘ and nothing would 
make us all happier than to have it as you say ; you in a 
good warm frigate, on our broadside, and we in this of our 
own, contending fairly for the honor of our respective 
countries.” 

‘ ‘ Monsieur, the fortune of war has ordered it otherwise ; 
but, you are not seated. Monsieur lyieutenant.” 

“Mon pardon — Captain Cuffe has sent me to request 
you will favor him with your company, in his cabin, as soon 
as it may be agreeable to yourself. Monsieur Yvard.” 

There is something in the polished expressions of the 
French language, that would have rendered it difficult for 
Griffin to have been other than delicate in his communica- 
tions with the prisoner, had he been so disposed ; but such 
was not his inclination ; for, now that their gallant adver- 
sary was at their mercy, all the brave men in the Proserpine 
felt a disposition to deal tenderly with him. Raoul was 
touched with these indications of generosity, and, as he 
had witnessed Griffin’s spirit in the different attempts made 
on his lugger, it inclined him to think better of his foes. 
Rising, he professed his readiness to attend the captain at 
that very moment. 

Cuffe was waiting in the after-cabin. When Griffin and 
the prisoner entered, he courteously requested both to be 
seated, the former being invited to remain, not only as a 


332 




witness of what might occur, but to act as interpreter in 
case of need. A short pause succeeded, and then the cap- 
tain opened the dialogue, which was carried on in English, 
with occasional assistance from Griffin, whenever it became 
necessary. 

“I greatly regret. Monsieur Yvard, to see a brave man 
in your situation,” commenced Cuffe, who, sooth to say, 
apart from the particular object he had in view, uttered no 
more than the truth. “We have done full justice to your 
spirit and judgment, while we have tried the hardest to get 
you into our power. But the laws of war are severe, nec- 
essarily, and we English have a commander-in-chief who is 
not disposed to trifle in matters of duty.” 

This was said, partly in policy, and partly from a habit 
of standing in awe of the character of Nelson. Raoul re- 
ceived it, however, in the most favorable light ; though the 
politic portion of the motive was altogether thrown away, 
as will be seen in the sequel. 

“ Monsieur, un Frangais knows how to die in the cause 
of liberty and his country,” answered Raoul, courteously, 
yet with emphasis. 

“ I do not doubt it. Monsieur; still, I .see no necessity of 
pushing things to that extremity. England is as liberal of 
her rewards as she is powerful to resent injuries. Perhaps 
some plan may be adopted which will avert the necessity of 
sacrificing the life of a brave man in so cruel a mode. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ I shall not affect to play the hero. Monsieur le Capi- 
taine. If any proper mode of relieving me, in my present 
crisis, can be discovered, my gratitude will be in proportion 
to the service rendered.” 

“ This is talking sensibly, and to the purpose : I make no 
doubt, when we come to a right understanding, everything 
will be amicably arranged between us. Griffin, do me the 
favor to help yourself to a glass of wine and water, which 
you will find refreshing, this warm day. Monsieur Yvard 
will join us ; the wine coming from Capri, and being far 
from bad; though some do prefer the Eachrymae Christi 
that grows about the foot of Vesuvius, I believe.” 

Griffin did as desired, though his own countenance was 




333 


far from expressing all the satisfaction that was obvious in 
the face of Cufife. Raoul declined the offer ; waiting for 
the forthcoming explanation with an interest he did not 
affect to conceal. Cuffe seemed disappointed and reluctant 
to proceed ; but, finding his two companions silent, he was 
obliged to make his proposal. 

“Oui, Monsieur,” he added, “England is powerful to 
resent, but ready to forgive. You are very fortunate in 
having it in your power, at so serious a moment, to secure 
her pardon for an offence that is always visited in war with 
a punishment graver than any other.” 

“In what way can this be done. Monsieur le Capitaine? 
I am not one who despises life ; more especially when it is in 
danger of being lost by a disgraceful death.” 

“I am rejoiced. Monsieur Yvard, to find you in this frame 
of mind : it will relieve me from the discharge of a most 
painful duty, and be the means of smoothing over many 
difficulties. Without doubt, you have heard of the character 
of our celebrated admiral Nelson ? ” 

“His name is known to every seaman. Monsieur,” an- 
swered Raoul, stiffly ; his natural antipathies being far from 
cured by the extremity of his situation. “ He has written 
it on the waters of the Nile, in letters of blood ! ’ ’ 

“Ay, his deeds, there or elsewhere, will not soon be 
forgotten. He is a man of an iron will ; when his heart is 
set on a thing, he sticks at no risk to obtain it, especially if 
the means be lawful, and the end is glory. To be frank. 
Monsieur, he wishes much for your lugger, the Ee Few- 
Folly.’^ 

“Ah !” exclaimed Raoul, smiling ironically, “Nelson is 
not the only English admiral who has had the same desire. 
Ee Feu-Follet, Monsieur le Capitaine, is so charming, that 
she has many admirers ! ” 

“ Among whom Nelson is one of the warmest. Now, this 
makes your case so much the easier to be disposed of. You 
have nothing to do but put the lugger into our hands, when 
you will be pardoned, and be treated as a prisoner of war.” 

“ Does Monsieur Nelson authorize you to make this pro- 
posal to me? ” asked Raoul gravely. 


334 


‘lKIl^n0^an^s=M^na 


“ He does. Intrusted with the care of his country’s 
interests, he is willing to overlook the offence against her, 
under the law of nations, to deprive the enemy of doing so 
much harm. Put the lugger into our hands, and you shall 
be sent to an ordinary prison-ship. Nay, merely let us 
into the secret of her position, and we will see to her 
capture. ’ ’ 

“ Monsieur Nelson doubtless does no more than his duty,” 
answered Raoul, quietly, but with an air of severe self- 
respect. “It is his business to have a care for English 
commerce, and he has every right to make this bargain. 
But the treaty will not be conducted on equal terms ; while 
he is doing no more than his duty, I have no powers.” 

“ How? You have the power of speech ; that will suf- 
fice to let us into the secret of the orders you have given 
the lugger, and where she is probably to be found at this 
moment.” 

“ Non, Monsieur ; I have not even that in my power. I 
can do nothing that must cover me with so much infamy. 
My tongue is under laws that I never made, when treachery 
is in question.” 

Had Raoul assumed a theatrical tone and manner, as 
might have been expected, probably it would have made 
very little impression on Cuffe ; but his quiet simplicity and 
steadiness carried conviction with them. To say the truth, 
the captain was disappointed. He would have hesitated 
about making his proposition to an officer of the regular 
French marine, low as even these stood, at that day, in the 
estimation of Nelson’s fleet in particular ; but from a priva- 
teersman he expected a greedy acquiescence in a plan that 
offered life as a reward, in exchange for a treachery like 
that he proposed. At first he felt disposed to taunt Raoul 
with the contradiction between what he, Cuffe, conceived to 
be his general pursuits, and his present assumption of prin- 
ciples ; but the unpretending calmness of the other’s man- 
ner, and the truth of his feelings, prevented it. Then, to 
do Cuffe himself justice, he was too generous to abuse the 
power he had over his prisoner. 

“You may do well to think of this, Monsieur Yvard,” 




335 


observed the captain, after a pause of quite a minute. ‘ ‘ The 
interest at stake is so heavy, that reflection may yet induce 
you to change your mind.” 

‘ ‘ Monsieur Cuffe, I pardon you, if you can pardon your- 
self,” answered Raoul, with severe dignity in his manner, 
rising as he spoke, as if disdaining civilities which came 
from his tempter. ” I know what you think of us corsairs ; 
but an officer in an honorable service should hesitate long 
before he tempts a man to do an act like this. The fact that 
the life of your prisoner is at stake, ought to make a brave 
seaman still more delicate how he tries to work on his ter- 
rors or his principles. But, I repeat, I forgive you. Mon- 
sieur, if you can forgive yourself. ’ ’ 

Cuffe stood confounded. The blood rushed to his heart ; 
after which, it appeared as if about to gush through the 
pores of his face. A feeling of fierce resentment almost 
consumed him ; then he became himself again, and began 
to see things as was his wont in cooler moments. Still he 
could not speak, pacing the cabin to recover his self-com- 
mand. 

” Monsieur Yvard,” he at length said, ” I ask your for- 
giveness sincerely, and from the bottom of my heart. I did 
not know you, or such a proposal would never have insulted 
you, or disgraced a British officer, in my person. Nelson, 
too, is the last man living, to wound the feelings of an hon- 
orable enemy; but we did not know you. All privateers- 
men are not of your way of thinking, and it was there we 
fell into our mistake.” 

”Touchez-la,” said Raoul, frankly extending his hand, 
” Monsieur le Capitaine, you and I ought to meet in two 
fine frigates, each for his country’s honor ; let what would 
be the result, it would lay the foundations of an eternal 
ftiendship. I have lived long enough in votre Angleterre, 
to understand how little you know notre France; mais 
n’importe. Brave men can understand one another, all over 
the world ; for the little time which is left me, we shall be 
friends.” 

Cuffe seized Raoul’s hand, and even a tear escaped him as 
he squeezed it warmly. 


33 ^ 


TPIlfn0ssanbs=Min^ 


“This has been a d d miserable business, Griffin,” 

said the captain, as soon as he could speak without betray- 
ing weakness, ‘ ‘ and one no man will ever find me employed 
in again, though a fleet as large as that up in the bay yon- 
der were the price.” 

‘ ‘ I never thought it would succeed, sir ; and, to say the 
truth, I never hoped it would. You ’ll excuse me. Captain 
Cuffe, but we English don’t give the continentals exactly 
the credit they deserve; and particularly the French. I 
thought it would n’t do, from the first.” 

Cuffe now repeated his apologies ; and after a few expres- 
sions of friendly esteem on both sides, Raoul returned to his 
httle room, declining the captain’s offer to occupy one of the 
cabin state-rooms. Griffin was soon back again ; then the 
conversation was resumed between the two officers. 

“This is altogether a most painful business, Griffin,” 
observed Cuffe. “ There is no doubt that Monsieur Yvard 
is technically a spy, and guilty, according to the forms of 
law; but I entertain not the smallest doubt of the truth 
of his whole story. This Ghita Caraccioli, as the girl calls 
herself, is the very picture of truth ; and was actually in 
Nelson’s cabin the day before yesterday , under circumstances 
that leave no doubt of the simplicity and truth of her char- 
acter, while every part of the tale corresponds with the 
other. Even the veechy, and this pursy old podest^, con- 
firm the account ; for they have seen Ghita in Porto Ferrajo, 
and begin to think the Frenchman came in there solely on 
her account.” 

“I make no doubt. Captain Cuffe, that Eord Nelson will 
give a respite, or even a pardon, were the facts fairly laid 
before him,” observed Griffin, who felt a generous interest 
in preserving the life of Raoul, the very man he had en- 
deavored to destroy by fire only a few weeks before; but 
such is the waywardness of man, and such are the mixed 
feelings generated by war. 

“ This is the most serious part of the affair, Griffin. The 
sentence is approved ; with an order that it shall be carried 
into effect this very day, between the hours of sunrise and 
sunset ; while here it is already noon, and we are to the 




337 


southward of Campanella, and so distant from the flag-ship 
as to put signals out of the question.” 

Griffin started ; all the grave difficulties of the case glanc- 
ing upon his mind in a moment. An order, according to 
the habits of the service, and more especially an order of this 
serious character, was not to be questioned; yet here was 
a dilemma in which there appeared no means of relief. 

‘ ‘ Good God, Captain Cuffe, how unlucky ! Cannot an 
express be sent across by land, so as yet to reach the flag- 
ship in time ? ’ ’ 

“I have thought of that, Griffin, and Clinch has gone 
precisely on that errand.” 

“Clinch ! Pardon me, sir; but such a duty reqtiires a 
very active and sober officer ! ” 

“Clinch is active enough, and I know his besetting weak- 
ness will have no power over him to-day. I have opened 
the way for a commission to him, and no one in the ship can 
go to Naples in a boat sooner than Clinch, if he really try. 
He will make the most of the afternoon’s breeze, should 
there be any, and I have arranged a signal with him, by 
which he may let us know the result even at the distance of 
eight or ten miles.” 

“Has I^ord Nelson left no discretion in the orders, sir?” 

“None; unless Raoul Yvard distinctly consent to give 
up the lugger. In that case, I have a letter which au- 
thorizes me to delay the execution, until I can communi- 
cate directly with the commander-in-chief.” 

“ How very unlucky it has been, all round ! Is there no 
possibility, sir, of making up a case that might render this 
discretion available ? ’ ’ 

“That might do among your irresponsibles, Mr. Griffin,” 
answered Cuffe, a little sharply ; ‘ ‘ but I would rather hang 
forty Frenchmen than be Bronted by Nelson for neglect 
of duty.” 

Cuffe spoke more strongly than he intended, perhaps ; but 
the commander of a ship-of-war does not always stop to 
weigh his words, when he condescends to discuss a point 
with an inferior. The reply put a check upon Griffin’s zeal, 

however, though the discourse did not the less proceed. 

22 


338 




“Well, sir,” the lieutenant answered, “I’m sure we are 
all as anxious as you can be, to avert this affair from our 
ship. ’Twas but the other day we were boasting in the 
gun-room, to some of the I^apwing’s officers that were on 
a visit here, that the Proserpine never had an execution or 
a court-martial flogging on board her, though she had now 
been under the British ensign near four years, and had been 
seven times under fire ! ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ God send, Griffin, that Clinch find the admiral, and get 
back in time ! ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ How would it do, sir, to send the vice-govematore to 
try the prisoner ; perhaps he might persuade him to seem 
to consent, or some such thing, you know, sir, as might 
justify a delay. They say the Corsicans are the keenest- 
witted fellows in all these seas ; and Klba is so near to Cor- 
sica, that one cannot fancy there is much difference between 
their people.” 

“Ay, your veechy is a regular witch ! He made out so 
well in his first interview with Yvard, that no one can 
doubt his ability to overlay him in another ! ’ ’ 

“One never knows. Captain Cuffe. The Italian has 
more resources than most men ; and the Signor Barrofaldi 
is a discreet, sensible man, when he acts with his eyes open. 
Te Feu-Follet has cheated others besides the vice-govema- 
tore and the podesta. ’ ’ 

“Ay, these d d Jack-o’-Tantems are never to be 

trusted. It would hardly surprise me to see the Folly 
coming down wing-and-wing from under the land, and pass- 
ing out to sea, with a six-knot breeze, while we lay as still 
as a cathedral, with not air enough to turn the smoke of the 
galley-fire from the perpendicular.” 

“She’s not inside of us. Captain Cuffe; of that we may 
be certain. I have been on the main-top-gallant yard, with 
the best glass in the ship, and have swept the whole coast, 
from the ruins over against us, here to the eastward, up to 
the town of Salerno ; there is nothing to be seen as large 
as a sparanara.” 

“One would think, too, this Monsieur Yvard might give 
up, to save his own life, after all ! ” 


TKIlinas»anb==Mino 


339 


** should hardly do it, I hope, Captain Cuffe? ” 

“I believe you are right, Griffin; one feels forced to 
respect the privateersman, in spite of his trade. Who 
knows but something might be got out of that Bolt ? He 
must know as much about the lugger as Yvard himself? ” 

“ Quite true, sir ; I was thinking of proposing something 
of the sort, not a minute since. Now that ’s a fellow one 
may take pleasure in riding down, as one would ride down 
the main tack. Shall I have him sent for. Captain Cuffe? ” 

The captain hesitated ; for the previous experiments on 
Ithuel’s selfishness had failed. Still the preservation of 
Raoul’s life, and the capture of the lugger, were now objects 
of nearly equal interest with Cuffe, and he felt disposed to 
neglect no plausible means of effecting either. A sign of 
approbation was all the lieutenant needed; and, in a few 
minutes, Ithuel stood again in the presence of his cap- 
tain. 

‘ ‘ Here is an opportunity for you to fetch up a good deal 
of leeway. Master Bolt,” commenced the captain; “and I 
am willing to give you a chance to help yourself. You 
know where you last left the Few-Folly, I suppose? ” 

“ I don’t know but I might, sir,” answered Ithuel, rolling 
his eyes around him, curious to ascertain what the other 
would be at. “I don’t know but I might remember, on a 
pinch, sir ; though, to own the truth, my memory is none 
of the most desperate best.” 

“Well, then, where was it? Recollect that the life of 
your late friend, Raoul Yvard, may depend on your an- 
swer.” 

“I want to know ! Well, this Europe zs a curious part 
of the world, as all must admit that come from Ameriky. 
What has Captain Rule done now, sir, that he stands in 
such jeopardy ? ” 

“You know that he is convicted as a spy ; and my orders 
are to have him executed, unless we can get his lugger. 
Then, indeed, we may possibly show him a little favor ; as 
we do not make war so much on individuals as on nations. 

Cuffe would probably have been puzzled to explain the 
application of his own sentiment to the case before him ; 


340 




but, presuming on his having to deal with one who was 
neither very philosophical nor logical himself, he was some- 
what indifferent to his own mode of proceeding, so that it 
effected the object. Ithuel, however, was not understood. 
Love for Raoul or the lugger, or, indeed, for anything else, 
himself excepted, formed no part of his character ; while 
hatred of England had got to be incorporated with the 
whole of his moral system ; if such a man could be said to 
have a moral system at all. He saw nothing to be gained 
by serving Raoul in particular ; though this he might have 
done did nothing interfere to prevent it ; while he had so 
strong an aversion to suffering the English to get Le Feu- 
Follet, as to be willing even to risk his own life to prevent 
it. His care, therefore, was to accomplish his purpose with 
the least hazard to himself. 

‘ ‘ And, if the lugger can be had, sir, you intend to let 
Captain Rule go ? ” he asked, with an air of interest. 

‘ ‘ Ay, we may do that ; though it will depend on the 
admiral. Can you tell us where you left her, and where 
she probably now is ? ” 

‘ ‘ Captain Rul'e has said the first already, sir. He told 
the truth about that before the court. But, as to telling 
where the lugger is now, I ’ll defy any man to do it ! Why, 
sir, I ’ve turned in at eight bells, and left her, say ten or fif- 
teen leagues dead to leeward of an island or a light-house, 
perhaps ; and on turning out at eight bells in the morning, 
found her just as far to windward of the same object. 
She ’s as oncalculating a craft as I ever put foot aboard of.” 

‘ ‘ Indeed ! ’ ’ said Cuffe, ironically ; “ I do not wonder that 
her captain ’s in a scrape.” 

“Scrape, sir ! The Folly is nothing but a scrape. I ’ve 
tried my hand at keeping her reck’nin’.” 

“You!” 

“Yes, sir, I — Ithuel Bolt; that’s my name, at hum’ or 
abroad ; and I ’ve tried to keep the Folly’s reck’nin’, with all 
the advantage of thermometer, and lead-lines, and loga- 
rithms, and such necessaries, you know. Captain Cuffe ; and 
I never yet could place her within a hundred miles of the 
spot where she was actually seen to be. ’ ’ 


mtng-an&*=Mina 


341 


“ I am not at all surprised to hear this, Bolt ; but what I 
want at present, is to know what you think may be the pre- 
cise position of the lugger, without the aid of the thermome- 
ter, and of logarithms ; I ’ve a notion you would make out 
better by letting such things alone. ’ ’ 

“Well, who knows but I might, sir! My idee of the 
Folly, just now, sir, is that she is somewhere off Capri, un- 
der short canvas, waiting for Captain Rule and I to join her, 
and keeping a sharp lookout after the inimies’ cruisers.” 

Now, this was not only precisely the position of the lug- 
ger at that very moment, but it was what Ithuel actually 
believed to be her position. Still nothing was further from 
this man’s intention than to betray his former messmates. 
He was so very cunning as to have detected how little Cuffe 
was disposed to believe him ; and he told the truth as the 
most certain means of averting mischief from the lugger. 
Nor did his ruse fail of its object. His whole manner had 
so much deceit and low cunning about it, that neither Cuffe 
nor Griffin believed a word he said ; and after a little more 
pumping, the fellow was dismissed in disgust, with a sharp 
intimation that it would be singularly for his interest to look 
out how he discharged his general duties in the ship. 

“This will never do, Griffin,” exclaimed the captain, 
vexed and disappointed. “Should anything occur to 
Clinch, or should the admiral happen to be off with the 
king, on one of his shooting excursions, we shall be in a 
most serious dilemma. Would to God we had not left the 
anchorage at Capri I Then one might communicate with 
the flag with some certainty. I shall never forgive myself, 
if anything fatal actually take place 1 ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ When one does all for the best. Captain Cuffe, his mind 
ought to be at ease, and you could not possibly foresee what 
has happened. Might not — one wouldn’t like either — but 
necessity is a hard master — ” 

“ Out with it, Griffin ; anything is better than suspense.” 
“Well, sir, I was just thinking that possibly this young 
Italian girl might know something about the lugger, and, as 
she clearly loves the Frenchman, we should get a strong 
purchase on her tongue by means of her heart.” 


342 




Cuffe looked intently at his lieutenant for half a minute ; 
then he shook his head in disapprobation. 

“ No, Griffin, no,” he said, “to this I never can consent. 
As for this quibbling, equivocating Yankee, if Yankee he 
be, one wouldn’t feel many scruples of delicacy; but to 
probe the affections of a poor, innocent girl, in this way, 
would be going too far. The heart of a young girl should 
be sacred, under every circumstance.” 

Griffin colored, and he bit his lip. No one likes to be 
outdone, in the appearance of generosity, at least ; and he 
felt vexed that he should have ventured on a proposition 
that his superior treated as unbecoming. 

‘ ‘ Nevertheless, sir, she might think the lugger cheaply 
sold,” he said, with emphasis, “ provided her lover’s life was 
what she got in exchange. It would be a very different 
thing were we to ask her to sell her admirer, instead of a 
mere privateer.” 

“No matter, Griffin. We will not meddle with the 
private feelings of a young female, that chance has thrown 
into our hands. As soon as we get near enough in with the 
land, I intend to let the old man take his boat, and carry his 
niece ashore. That will be getting rid of them, at least, 
honorably and fairly. God knows what is to become of the 
Frenchman. ’ ’ 

This terminated the conference. Griffin went on deck, 
where duty now called him ; and Cuffe sat down to re- 
peruse, for the ninth or tenth time, the instructions of the 
admiral. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

“ I have no dread, 

And feel the curse to have no natural fear, 

Nor fluttering throb, that beats with hopes or wishes. 

Or lurking love of something on the earth.” 

Manfred. 

B y tHs time the day had materially advanced, and 
there were grave grounds for the uneasiness which 
Cuffe began so seriously to feel. All three of the 
ships were still in the Bay of Salerno, gathering in 
towards its northern shore, however; the Proserpine, the 
deepest embayed, the Terpischore, and the Ringdove, hav- 
ing hauled out towards Campanella, as soon as satisfied 
nothing was to be seen in-shore of them. The heights 
which line the coast, from the immediate vicinity of the 
town of Salerno, to the headland that ends near Capri, have 
long been celebrated, not only for their beauty and grandeur, 
but in connection with the lore of the Middle Ages. As 
the Proserpine had never been in this bay before, or never 
so near its head, her oflBcers found some temporary relief 
from the very general uneasiness that was felt on account of 
their prisoner, in viewing scenery that is remarkable even in 
that remarkable section of the globe. The ship had gone 
up abreast of Amalfi, and so close in, as to be less than a 
mile from the shore. The object was to communicate with 
some fishermen, which had been done ; the information re- 
ceived going to establish the fact, that no craft resembling 
the lugger had been in that part of the bay. The vessel’s 
head was now laid to the southward and westward, in wait- 
ing for the zephyr, which might soon be expected. The 
gallant frigate, seen from the impending rocks, looked like a 




344 


XP(Ilin(^:==ant)^Ximin9 


light merchantman, in all but her symmetry and warlike 
guise ; nature being moulded on so grand a scale all along 
that coast, as to render objects of human art unusually | 
diminutive to the eye. On the other hand, the country- 
houses, churches, hermitages, convents, and villages, clus- | 
tered all along the mountain sides, presented equally delusive 
forms, though they gave an affluence to the views, that left ' 
the spectator in a strange doubt which most to admire, their 
wildness, or their picturesque beauty. The little air that 
remained was still at the southward, and as the ship moved 
slowly along this scene of singular attraction, each ravine 
seemed to give up a town, each shelf of rock a human 
habitation, and each natural terrace a villa and a garden. 

Of all men, the sailors get to be the most blasis in the way ' 

of the sensations produced by novelties, and fine scenery. i 

It appears to be a part of their calling to suppress the emo- | 

tions of a greenhorn ; and, generally, they look upon any- j 

thing that is a little out of the ordinary track, with the cool- 
ness of those who feel it is an admission of inferiority to 
betray surprise. It seldom happens with them, that anything 
occurs, or anything is seen, to which the last cruise, or, if - 
the vessel be engaged in trade, the last voyage, did not at 
least furnish a parallel ; usually the past event, or the more 
distant object, has the advantage. He who has a sufficient 
store of this reserved knowledge and experience, it will at 
once be seen, enjoys a great superiority over him who has 
not, and is placed above the necessity of avowing a sensation 
as humiliating as wonder. On the present occasion, how- 
ever, but few held out against the novelty of the actual situ- 
ation of the ship ; most on board being willing enough to 
allow that they had never before been beneath cliffs that had 
such a union of the magnificent, the picturesque, and the 
soft ; though a few continued firm, acting up to the old char- 
acters, with the consistency of settled obstinacy. 

Strand, the boatswain, was one of those who, on all such 
occasions, “died hard.” He was the last man in the ship 
who ever gave up a prejudice ; and this for three several 
reasons : he was a cockney, and believed himself born in the 
centre of human knowledge ; he was a seaman, and under- 


Mlng=anJ>*Mtng 


34S 


stood the world ; he was a boatswain, and stood upon his 
dignity. 

As the Proserpine fanned slowly along the land, this per- 
sonage took a position between the knight-heads, on the bow- 
sprit, where he could overlook the scene, and at the same 
time hear the dialogue of the forecastle ; and both with suit- 
able decorum. Strand was as much of a monarch forward, as 
Culfe was aft ; though the appearance of a lieutenant, or of 
the master, now and then, a little dimmed the lustre of his 
reign. Still, Strand succumbed completely to only two of 
the officers — the captain and the first lieutenant ; and not 
always to these, in what he conceived to be purely matters 
of sentiment. In the way of duty, he understood himself too 
well ever to hesitate about obeying an order ; but when it 
came to opinions, he was a man who could maintain his own, 
even in the presence of Nelson. 

The first captain of the forecastle was an old seaman of 
the name of Catfall. At the precise moment when Strand 
occupied the position named, between the knight-heads, this 
personage was holding a discourse with three or four of the 
forcastle-men, who stood on the heel of the bowsprit, in- 
board — the etiquette of the ship not permitting these wor- 
thies to show their heads above the nettings. Bach of the 
party had his arms folded ; each chewed tobacco ; each had 
his hair in a queue ; and each occasionally hitched up his trou- 
sers, in a way to prove that he did not require the aid of sus- 
penders in keeping his nether garments in their proper place. 
It may be mentioned, indeed, that the point of division 
between the jacket and the trousers was marked in 
each by a bellying line of a clean white shirt, that served to 
relieve the blue of the dress, as a species of marine facing. 
As was due to his greater experience and his rank, Catfall 
was the principal speaker among those who lined the heel 
of the bowsprit. 

“This here coast is moun/^mous, as one may own,” 
observed the captain of the forecastle; “but what I say is, 
that it’s not as mounfainions, as some I’ve seen. Now, 
when I went round the ’arth with Captain Cook, we fell in 
with islands that were so topped off with rocks, and the like 


346 




o’ that, that these here affairs alongside on ’em wouldn’t 
pass for anything more than a sort of jury mountains,” 

“There you’re right, Catfall,” said Strand, in a patron- 
izing way ; “as anybody knows as has been round the 
Horn. I did n’t sail with Captain Cook, seeing that I was 
then the boatswain of the Hussar, and she couldn’t have 
made one of Cook’s squadron, being a post-ship, and com- 
manded by a full-built captain ; but I was in them seas when 
a younker, and can back Catfall’ s account of the matter 

by my largest anchor, in the way of history. D e, if 

I think these hillocks would be called even jury mountains, 
in that quarter of the world. They tell me there ’s several 
noblemen’s and gentlemen’s parks near Tunnun, where they 
make mountains just to look at; that must be much of 
a muchness with these here chaps. I never drift far from 
Wappin’, when I ’m at home, and so I can’t say I ’ve seen 
these artifice hills, as they calls them, myself; but there’s 
one Joseph Shirk, that lives near St. Katharine’s Tane, that 
makes trips regularly into the neighborhood, who gives quite 
a particular account of the matter.” 

“ I dare to say it ’s all true, Mr. Strand,” answered the cap- 
tain of the forecastle, “for I ’veknow’d some of them travel- 
ling chaps who have seen stranger sights than that. No, 
sir, I calls these mountains no great matter ; and as to the 
houses and villages on ’em, where you see one here, you 
might say you could see two on some of the desert 
islands — ’ ’ 

A very marvellous account of Cook’s discoveries was sud- 
denly checked by the appearance of Cuffe on the forecastle. 
It was not often the captain visited that part of the ship ; but 
he was considered a privileged person, let him go where he 
would. At his appearance, all the “ old salts ” quitted the 
heel of the spar, tarpaulins came fairly down to a level with 
the bag-reefs of the shirts, and even Strand stepped into the 
nettings, leaving the place between the knight-heads clear. 
To this spot Cuffe ascended with a light, steady step, for he 
was but six- and- twenty, just touching his hat in return to 
the boatswain’s bow. 

A boatswain, on board an English ship-of-war, is a more 




347 


important personage than he is apt to be on board an Ameri- 
can. Neither the captain nor the first lieutenant disdains 
conversing with him, on occasions ; and he is sometimes seen 
promenading the starboard side of the quarter-deck in deep 
discourse with one or the other of those high functionaries. It 
has been said that Cuffe and Strand were old shipmates, 
the latter having actually been boatswain of the ship in 
which the former first sailed. This circumstance was con- 
stantly borne in mind by both parties, the captain seldom 
coming near his inferior, in moments of relaxation, without 
having something to say to him. 

‘ ‘ Rather a remarkable coast this. Strand, ’ ’ he commenced, 
on the present occasion, as soon as fairly placed between 
the knight-heads ; “something one might look a week for, 
in England, without finding it.” 

“ I beg your pardon, sir, but I ’m not of the same way of 
thinking. I was just telling the forecastle lads, down there, 
that there ’s many a nobleman and gentleman at home as 
has finer hills than these, made by hand, in his parks and 
gardens, just to look at.” 

“ The d 1 you have ! And what did the forecastle 

lads down there say to that ? ’ ’ 

“What could they, sir? It just showed the superiority 
of an Englishman to an Italian, and that ended the matter. 
Don’t you remember the Injees, sir? ” 

“ The Indies ! Why, the coast between Bombay and 
Calcutta is as flat as a pancake most of the distance.” 

“Not them Injees, .sir, but t’ other— the West, I mean. 
The islands and mountains we passed and went into in the 
Rattler; your honor was only a young gentleman, then, 
but was too much aloft to miss the sight of anything — and 
all along America, too.” 

As Strand was speaking he glanced complacently round, 
as if to intimate to the listeners what an old friend of the 
captain’s they enjoyed in the person of their boatswain. 

“O! the West Indies— you ’re nearer right there. 
Strand; and yet they have nothing to compare to this. 
Why, here are mountains, alive with habitations, that fairly 
come up to the sea ! ” 


348 




“Well, sir, as to habitations, what ’s these to a street in 
lyunnun? Begin on the starboard hand, for instance, as 
you walk down Cheapside, and count as you go ; my life 
for it, you ’ll reel off more houses in half an hour’s walk than 
are to be found in all that there village yonder. Then 
you ’ll remember, sir, that the starboard hand only has half, 
every Jack having his Jenny. I look upon Tunnun as the 
finest sight in nature, Captain Cuffe, after all I have seen in 
many cruises ! ’ ’ 

“I don’t know, Mr. Strand. In the way of coast, one 
may very well be satisfied with this. Yonder town, now, 
is called Amalfi ; it was once a place of great commerce, 
they say. ’ ’ 

“ Of commerce, sir ! — why it ’s nothing but a bit of a vil- 
lage, or, at most, of a borough built in a hollow. No haven, 
no docks, no comfortable place even for setting up the frame 
of a ship on the beach. The commerce of such a town must 
have been mainly carried on by means of mules and j ack- 
asses, as one reads of in the trade of the Bible.” 

‘ ‘ Carried on as it might be, trade it once had. There 
does not seem to be any hiding-place along this shore for a 
lugger like the Folly, after all. Strand.” 

The boatswain smiled, with a knowing look, while, at the 
same time, the expression of his countenance was like that 
of a man who did not choose to let others into all his secrets. 

“The Folly is a craft we are not likely to see again. 
Captain Cuffe,” he then answered, if it were only out of 
respect to his superior. 

“ Why so ? The Proserpine generally takes a good look 
at everything she chases.” 

“Ay, ay, sir; that may be true, as a rule, but I never 
knew a craft found after a third look for her. Everything 
seems to go by thirds, in this world, sir ; and I always look 
upon a third chase as final. Now, sir, there are three 
classes of admirals, and three sets of flags ; a ship has three 
masts ; the biggest ships are three deckers ; then there are 
three planets — ’ ’ 

“The d 1 there are! How do you make that out, 

Strand?” 




349 


“Why, sir, there ’s the sun, moon, and stars ; that makes 
just three by my count.” 

“Ay, but what do you say to Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and 
all the rest of them, the earth included ? ” 

“ Why, sir, they ’re all the rest of the stars, and not plan- 
ets at all. Then, sir, look around you, and you’ll find 
everything going by threes. There are three topsails, three 
jibs, and three top-gallant sails — ” 

“And two courses,” said the captain, gravely, to whom 
this theory of the threes was new. 

‘ ‘ Quite true, sir, in name ; but your honor will recollect 
the spanker is nothing but a fore-and-aft course, rigged to a 
mast, instead of to a jack-yard, as it used to be.” 

‘ ‘ There are neither three captains nor three boatswains to 
a ship. Master Strand.” 

‘ ‘ Certainly not, sir ; that would be oppressive, and they 
would stand in each other’s way ; still. Captain Cuffe, the 
thirds hold out wonderfully, even in all these little matters. 
There’s the three lieutenants ; and there’s the boatswain, 
gunner, and carpenter ; and — ” 

“Sail-maker, armorer, and captain of the mast,” inter- 
rupted Cuffe, laughing. 

“Well, sir, you may make anything seem doubtful, by 
bringing forward a plenty of reasons ; but all my expe- 
rience says, a third chase never comes to anything, unless 
it turns out successful ; but that after a third chase, all may 
as well be given up.” 

“I fancy Tord Nelson holds a different doctrine. Strand. 
He tells us to follow a Frenchman round the earth, rather 
than let him escape.” 

“No doubt, sir. Follow him round three earths, if you 
can keep him in sight ; but not round four. That is all I 
contend for. Captain Cuffe. Even women, they tell me, 
take what is called their thirds, in a fellow’s fortin’.” 

“Well, well. Strand, I suppose there must be some truth 
in your doctrine, or you wouldn’t hold out for it so strenu- 
ously ; and, as for this coast, I must give it up, for I never 
expect to see another like it ; much less a third.” 

“ It ’s my duty to give up to your honor ; but I ask per- 


350 




mission to think a third chase should always be the last one. 
That ’s a melancholy sight to a man of feelin’, Captain Cuffe, 
the object between the two midship-guns, on the starboard 
side of the main-deck, sir.” 

“You mean the prisoner? I wish with all my heart he 
was not there. Strand. I think I would rather he were in 
his lugger again, to run the chances of that fourth chase of 
which you seem to think so lightly.” 

“Your hanging ships are not often lucky ships. Captain 
Cuffe. In my judgment, asking your pardon, sir, there 
ought to be a floating jail in every fleet, where all the 
courts and all the executions shoifld be held. ’ ’ 

“ It would be robbing the boatswains of no small part of 
their duty, were the punishments to be sent out of the diff- 
erent vessels, ” answered Cuffe, smiling. 

‘ ‘ Ay, ay, sir ; the punishments, I grant, your honor ; 
but hanging is an execution, and not a punishment. God 
forbid that, at my time of my life, I should be ordered to 
sail in a ship that has no punishment on board ; but I am 
really getting to be too old to look at executions with any 
sort of pleasure. Duty that isn’t done with pleasure is but 
poor duty, at the best, sir.” 

“There are many disagreeable, and some painful duties 
to be performed. Strand ; this of executing a man, let the 
offence be what it may, is among the most painful.” 

“For my part. Captain Cuffe, I do not mind hanging a 
mutineer so very much, for he is a being that the world ought 
not to harbor ; but it is a different thing with an enemy 
and a spy. It ’s our duty to spy as much as we can for our 
king and country, and one ought never to bear too hard on 
such as does their duty. With a fellow that can’t obey 
orders, and puts his own will above the pleasure of his 
superiors, I have no patience ; but I do not so much under- 
stand why the gentlemen of the courts are so hard on such 
as do a little more reconn’ itrin’ than common.” 

“ That is because ships are less exposed to the attempts of 
spies than armies. Strand. A soldier hates a spy as much as 
you do a mutineer. The reason is, that he may be surprised 
by an enemy through his means, and butchered in his sleep. 


Mtn^^anC)=*XKIlina 


351 


Nothing is so unpleasant to a soldier as a surprise ; and the 
law against spies, though a general law of war, originated 
with soldiers rather than with us sailors, I should think.” 

“Yes, sir, I dare say your honor is right. He’s a rum 
’un, a soldier, at the best; and this opinion proves it. 
Now, sir. Captain Cuffe, just suppose a Frenchman of 
about our own metal took it into his head to surprise the 
Proserpine, some dark night ; what would come of it, after 
all ? There ’s the guns, and it ’s only to turn the hands up, 
to set ’em at work, just the same as if there was n’t a 
spy in the world. And should they prefer to come on 
board us, and to try their luck at close quarters, I rather 
think, sir, the surprise would meet ’em face to face. No, 
no, sir ; spies is nothing to us — though it might teach ’em 
manners to keel-haul one, once-and-awhile.” 

Cuffe now became thoughtful and silent, and even Strand 
did not presume to speak, when the captain was in this 
humor. The latter descended to the forecastle, and walked 
aft, his hands behind his back, and his head inclining down- 
wards. Every one he met made way for him, as a matter 
of course. In that mood he moved among the throng of 
a ship-of-war, as a man tabooed. Even Winchester re- 
spected his commander’s abstraction, although he had a 
serious request to make, which it is time to explain. 

Andrea Barrofaldi and Vito Viti remained on board the 
frigate, inmates of the cabin, and gradually becoming more 
accustomed to their novel situation. They did not escape 
the jokes of a man-of-war, but, on the whole, they were 
well treated, and were tolerably satisfied; more especially 
as the hope of capturing Ee Feu-Follet began to revive. 
As a matter of course, they were apprised of the condition 
of Raoul ; and, both kind and benevolent men in the main, 
they were desirous of conversing with the prisoner, and of 
proving to him that they bore no malice. Winchester was 
spoken to on the subject ; but before he granted the per- 
mission, he thought it safest to consult the captain in the 
matter. At length an opportunity offered, Cuffe suddenly 
rousing himself, and giving an order in relation to the can- 
vas the ship was under. 




3S2 

“Here are the two Italian gentlemen, Captain Cuffe,” 
observed Winchester, ‘ ‘ desirous of speaking to the prisoner. 
I did not think it right, sir, to let him have communication 
with any one, without first ascertaining your pleasure.” 

” Poor fellow ! His time is getting very short, unless 
we hear from Clinch ; and there can be no harm in grant- 
ing him every indulgence. I have been thinking of this 
matter, and do not possibly see how I can escape ordering 
the execution, unless it be countermanded from Nelson him- 
self.” 

‘ ‘ Certainly not, sir. But Mr. Clinch is an active and 
experienced seaman, when he is in earnest ; we may still 
hope something from him. What is to be done with the 
Italians, sir ? ” 

“ I^et them, or any one else that poor Yvard is willing to 
see, go below. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Do you mean to include old Giuntotardi and his niece. 
Captain Cuffe? and this deserter of our own. Bolt, — he, 
too, has had something to say of a wish to take leave of his 
late shipmate.” 

“We might be justified in denying the request of the 
last, Mr. Winchester, but hardly of the others. Still, if 
Raoul Yvard wishes to see even him, his desire may as well 
be granted.” 

Thus authorized, Winchester no longer hesitated about 
granting the several permissions. An order was sent to 
the sentinel, through the corporal of the guard, to allow 
any one to enter the prisoner’s room whom the latter might 
wish to receive. A ship was not like a prison on shore, 
escape being next to impossible, more especially from a ves- 
sel at sea. The parties accordingly received intimation 
that they might visit the condemned man, should the latter 
be disposed to receive them. 

By this time, something like a general gloom had settled 
on the ship. The actual state of things was known to all on 
board, and a few believed it possible that Clinch could reach 
the Foudroyant, receive his orders, and be back in time to 
prevent the execution. It wanted now but three hours of 
sunset, and the minutes appeared to fly, instead of dragging. 




353 


The human mind is so constituted, that uncertainty increases 
most of its sensations ; the apprehension of death even, 
very usually exciting a livelier emotion than its positive 
approach. Thus it was with the officers and people of the 
Proserpine : had there been no hope of escaping the execu- 
tion, they would have made up their minds to submit to the 
evil, as unavoidable ; but the slight chance which did actually 
exist, created a feverish excitement that soon extended to 
all hands ; and this as completely as if a chase were in sight, 
and each individual was bent on overtaking her. As minute 
after minute flew by, the feeling increased, until it would 
not much exceed the bounds of truth to say, that, under 
none of the vicissitudes of war did there ever exist so fever- 
ish an hour, on board his Britannic majesty’s ship, the Pro- 
serpine, as the very period of which we are now writing. 
Eyes were constantly turned towards the sun, and several of 
the young gentlemen collected on the forecastle, with no 
other view than to be as near as possible to the headland 
around which the boat of Clinch was expected to make her 
reappearance, as behind it she had last been seen. 

The zephyr had come at the usual hour, but it was light, 
and the ship was so close to the mountains as to feel very 
little of its force. It was different with the two other ves- 
sels. Eyon had gone about in time to get clear of the high- 
est mountains, and his lofty sails took enough of the breeze 
to carry him out to sea, three or four hours before ; while 
the Terpsichore, under Sir Frederick Dashwood, had never 
got near enough in with the land to be becalmed at all. Her 
head had been laid to the southwest, at the first appearance 
of the afternoon wind ; and that frigate was now hull-down 
to seaward — actually making a free wind of it, as she shaped 
her course up between Ischia and Capri. As for the 
Proserpine, when the bell struck three in the first dog-watch, 
she was just abeam of the celebrated little islets of the Sirens, 
the western breeze now beginning to die away, though, get- 
ting more of it, the ship was drawing ahead faster than she 
had been since the turn of the day. 

Three bells in the first dog-watch indicate the hour of 
half-past five. At that season of the year, the sun sets a 

33 


354 




few minutes past six. Of course there remained but little ' 
more than half an hour, in which to execute the sentence of i 
the law. Cuffe had never quitted the deck, and he actually 
started, when he heard the first sound of the clapper. Win- ; 
Chester turned towards him, with an inquiring look ; for j 
everything had been previously arranged between them ; he i 
received merely a significant gesture in return. This, how- i 
ever, was sufficient. Certain orders were privately issued. 
Then there appeared a stir among the fore-top-men, and on 
the forecastle, where a rope was rove at the fore-yard-arm, 
and a grating was rigged for a platform — unerring signs of 
the approaching execution. 

Accustomed as these hardy mariners were to brave dan- 
gers of all sorts, and to witness human suffering of nearly i 
every degree, a feeling of singular humanity had come over ^ 
the whole crew. Raoul was their enemy, it is true, and he j 
had been sincerely detested by all hands, eight-and-forty | 
hours before ; but circumstances had entirely changed the 
ancient animosity into a more generous and manly sentiment. j 
In the first place, a successful and a triumphant enemy was | 
an object very different from a man in their own power, 1 
and who lay entirely at their mercy. Then, the personal 
appearance of the young privateersman was unusually at- 
tractive, and altogether different from what it had been pre- 
viously represented, and that, too, by an active rivalry, that 
was not altogether free from bitterness. But chiefly was 
the generous sentiment awakened by the conviction that ; 
the master-passion, and none of the usual inducements of 
a spy, had brought their enemy into this strait ; and though 
clearly guilty in a technical point of view, that he was in- I 

fluenced by no pitiful wages, even allowing that he blended | 

with the pursuit of his love, some of the motives of his ordi- 
nary warfare. All these considerations, coupled with the 
reluctance that seamen ever feel to having an execution in ' 

their ship, had entirely turned the tables ; and there, where i 

Raoul would have found so lately between two and three 
hundred active and formidable enemies, he might almost be 
said now to have as many sympathizing friends. 

No wonder, then, that the preparations of the fore-top-men 




355 


were regarded with unfavorable eyes. The unseen hand of 
authority, nevertheless, held all in restraint. Cufife himself 
did not dare to hesitate any longer. The necessary orders 
were given, though with deep reluctance, and then the cap- 
tain went below, as if to hide himself from human eyes. 

The ten minutes that succeeded were minutes of intense 
concern. All hands were called, the preparations had been 
completed, and Winchester waited only for the reappear- 
ance of Cufife, to issue the order to have the prisoner placed 
on the grating. A midshipman was sent into the cabin, 
after which the commanding officer came slowly, and with 
a lingering step, upon the quarter-deck. The crew was as- 
sembled on the forecastle and in the waists ; the marine 
guard was under arms ; the officers clustered around the 
capstan ; and a solemn, uneasy expectation pervaded the 
whole ship. The lightest footfall was audible. Andrea and 
his friend stood apart, near the tafifirail, but no one saw Carlo 
Giuntotardi or his niece. 

“There is yet some five-and-twenty minutes of sun, I 
should think, Mr. Winchester,” observed Cufife, feverishly 
glancing his eye at the western margin of the sea, towards 
which the orb of day was slowly settling, gilding all that 
side of the vault of heaven with the mellow lustre of the 
hour and latitude. 

“Not more than twenty, I fear, sir,” was the reluctant 
answer. 

“ I should think five might suffice, at the worst ; espe- 
cially if the men make a swift run.” This was said in a 
half whisper, and thick, husky tones, the captain looking 
anxiously at the lieutenant the while. 

Winchester shrugged his shoulders, and turned away, un- 
willing to reply. 

Cufife now had a short consultation with the surgeon, the 
object of which was to ascertain the minimum of time a man 
might live, suspended by the neck at the yard-arm of a 
frigate. The result was not favorable ; for a sign followed 
to bring forth the prisoner. 

Raoul came on deck, in charge of the master-at-arms, and 
the officer who had acted as provost-marshal. He was clad 


356 




in his clean white lazzarone garb, wearing the red Phrygian 
cap already mentioned. Though his face was pale, no man 
could detect any tremor in the well-turned muscles that his 
loose attire exposed to view. He raised his cap courteously 
to the group of officers, and threw an understanding glance 
forward, at the fearful arrangement on the fore-yard. That 
he was shocked when the grating and rope met his eye, is 
unquestionable ; but, rallying in an instant, he smiled, bowed 
to Cuffe, and moved towards the scene of his contemplated 
execution, firmly, but without the smallest signs of bravado 
in his manner. 

A death-like stillness prevailed, while the subordinates 
adjusted the rope, and placed the condemned man on the 
grating. Then the slack of the rope was drawn in by hand, 
and the men were ordered to lay hold of the instrument of 
death, and to stretch it along the deck. 

“Stand by, my lads, to make a swift run and a strong 
jerk, at your first pull,” said Winchester, in a low voice, as 
he passed down the line. “Rapidity is mercy, at such a 
moment. ’ ’ 

“Good God!” muttered Cuffe, “can a man die in this 
manner, without a prayer; without even a glance towards 
heaven, as if asking for mercy ? ” 

“He is an unbeliever, I hear, sir,” returned Griffin. 
“We have offered him all the religious consolation we 
could ; but he seems to wish for none.” 

“ Hail the top-gallant yards once more, Mr. Winchester,” 
said Cuffe, huskily. 

“ Fore-top-gallant yard, there I ” 

“Sir?” 

“ Any signs of the boat— look well into the Bay of Na- 
ples — we are opening Campanella now sufficiently to give 
you a good look up towards the head.” 

A pause of a minute succeeded. Then the lookout aloft 
shook his head in the negative, as if unwilling to speak. 
Winchester glanced at Cuffe, who turned anxiously, mounted 
a gun, and strained his eyes in a gaze to the northward. 

“All ready, sir,” said the first lieutenant, when another 
minute elapsed. 




357 


Cuffe was in the act of raising his hand, which would 
have been the signal of death, when the dull, heavy report 
of a distant gun came booming down from the direction of 
the town of Naples. 

“Stand fast ! ” shouted Cuffe, fearful the men might get 
the start of him. “ Make your mates take their calls from 
their mouths, sir. Two more guns, Winchester, and I am 
the happiest man in Nelson’s fleet ! ” 

A second gun did come, just as these words were uttered ; 
then followed a breathless pause of half a minute, when a 
third, smothered, but unequivocal report succeeded. 

‘ ‘ It must be a salute, sir, ’ ’ Grifiin uttered, inquiringly. 

‘ ‘ The interval is too long. Tisten ! I hope to God we 
have had the last ! ’ ’ 

Kvery ear in the ship listened intently, Cuffe holding his 
watch in his hand. Two entire minutes passed, and no 
fourth gun was heard. As second after second went by, the 
expression of the captain’s countenance changed, and then 
he waved his hand in triumph. 

“It’s as it should be, gentlemen,’’ he said. “Take the 
prisoner below, Mr. Winchester. Unreeve the rope, and 

send that d d grating off the gun. Mr. Strand, pipe 

down. ’ ’ 

Raoul was immediately led below. As he passed through 
the after-hatch, all the officers on the quarter-deck bowed 
to him ; and not a man was there in the ship who did not 
feel the happier for the reprieve. 




CHAPTER XXIII. 

“ He saw with his own eyes the moon was round, 

Was also certain that the earth was square, 

Because he ’d journeyed fifty miles, and found 
No sign that it was circular anywhere.” 

Don Juan. 

R AOUE ward was indebted to a piece of fore- 
thought in Clinch for his life. But for the three 
guns fired so opportunely from the Foudroyant, 
the execution could not have been stayed ; and 
but for the prudent care on the part of the master’s-mate, 
the guns would never have been fired. The explanation is 
this : when Cuffe was gmng his subordinate instructions 
how to proceed, the possibility of detention struck the latter, 
and he bethought him of some expedient by which such an 
evil might be remedied. At his suggestion then, the signal 
of the guns was mentioned by the captain, in his letter to 
the commander-in-chief, and its importance pointed out. 
When Clinch reached the fleet. Nelson was at Castel-a-Mare, 
and it became necessary to follow him to that place by land. 
Here Clinch found him in the palace of Qui-Si-Sane, in 
attendance on the court, and delivered his despatches. 
Nothing gave the British admiral greater pleasure than to 
be able to show mercy, the instance to the contrary already 
introduced, existing as an exception in his private character 
and his public career ; and it is possible that an occurrence 
so recent, and so opposed to his habits, may have induced 
him the more willingly now to submit to his ordinary im- 
pulses, and to grant the respite asked with the greater 
promptitude. 

“Your captain tells me here, sir,” observed Nelson, after 
358 




359 


he had read CuiFe’s letter a second time, “ little doubt exists 
that Yvard was in the bay on a love affair, and that his pur- 
poses were not those of a spy, after all ? ” 

“ Such is the opinion aboard us, my lord,” answered the 
master’s-mate. “ There are an old man and a very charm- 
ing young woman in his company, who Captain Cufife says 
were in the cabin of your ship, on a visit to your lordship, 
only a few days since.” 

Nelson started, and his face flushed. Then he seized a 
pen, and, with the only hand he had, scratched a letter, di- 
recting a reprieve until further orders. This he signed and 
handed to Clinch, saying, as he did so, — 

“ Get into your boat, sir, and pull back to the frigate as 
fast as possible ; God forbid that any man suffer wrongfully ! ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ I beg your pardon, my lord — but there is not time, 
now, for me to reach the ship before the sun set. I have a 
signal prepared in the boat, it is true ; but the frigate may 
not come round Campanella before the last moment, and 
then all these pains will be lost. Does not Captain Cuffe 
speak of some guns to be fired from the flag-ship, my lord ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ He does, sir ; and this may be the safest mode of com- 
municating, after all. With this light westerly air, a gun 
will be heard a long distance at sea. Take the pen, and 
write as I dictate, sir.” 

Clinch seized the pen, which the admiral, who had lost 
his right arm only a few years before, really felt unable to 
use, and wrote as follows : — 

“Sir, — I mmediately on the receipt of this, you will fire 
three heavy guns, at intervals of half a minute, as a signal 
to the Proserpine to suspend an execution. 

“To the Commanding Officer of his Majesty’s 
3hip Foudroyant.” 

As soon as the magical words of “Nelson and Bronte” 
were afiixed to this order, with a date. Clinch rose to de- 
part. After he had made his bows, he stood with his hand 
on the lock of the door, as if uncertain whether to prefer a 
request or not. 

“This is a matter of moment, sir, and no time is to be 


360 




lost,” added Nelson. “ I feel great anxiety about it, and 
wish you to desire Captain Cufife to send you back with a 
report of all that has passed, as soon as convenient.” 

“I will report your wishes, my lord,” answered Clinch, 
brightening up ; for he only wanted an opportunity to speak 
of his own promotion, and this was now offered in prospec- 
tive. ‘ ‘ May I tell the commanding ofiScer of the flag-ship 
to use the lower-deck guns, my lord ? ’ ’ 

“He will do that of his own accord, after reading those 
orders ; heavy guns mean the heaviest. Good afternoon, 
sir ; for God’s sake, lose no time.” 

Clinch obeyed this injunction to the letter. He reached 
the Foudroyant some time before sunset, and immediately 
placed the order in her captain’s hands. A few words of ex- 
planation set everything in motion, and the three guns were 
fired on the side of the ship towards Capri, most opportunely 
for our hero. 

The half hour that succeeded, on board the Proserpine, 
was one of gayety and merriment. Every person was glad 
that the ship had escaped an execution ; and then it was the 
hour for piping down the hammocks, and for shifting the 
dog-watches. Cufie recovered all his animation, and con- 
versed cheerfully, having Grifiin for an interpreter, with his 
two Italian guests. These last had been prevented from 
paying their visit to the prisoner, on account of the latter’s 
wish to be alone ; but the intention was now renewed ; and 
sending below, to ascertain if it would be agreeable, they 
proceeded together on their friendly mission. As the two 
worthies, who had not altogether got their sea-legs, slowly 
descended the ladder, and threaded their way among the 
throng of a ship, the discourse did not flag between them. 

“Cospetto!” exclaimed the podest^; “Signor Andrea, 
we live in a world of wonders ! A man can hardly say 
whether he is actually alive, or not. To think how near 
this false Sir Smees was to death, half an hour since ; and 
now, doubtless, he is as much alive, and as merry as any 
of us.” 

“It would be more useful, friend Vito Viti,” answered 
the philosophical vice-governatore, “ to remember how 




361 


near those who live are always to death, who has only to 
open his gates, to cause the strongest and fairest to pass at 
once into the tomb.” 

“ By San Stefano, but you have a way with you, Vice- 
governatore, that would become a cardinal ! It’s a thou- 
sand pities the Church was robbed of such a support ; 
though I do think. Signor Andrea, if your mind would 
dwell less on another state of being, it would be more cheer- 
ful ; and I may say, more cheering to those with whom you 
discourse. There are evils enough, in this life, without 
thinking so much of death.” 

“There are philosophers who pretend, good Vito, that 
nothing that we see around us actually has an existence : 
that we fancy everything : fancy that this is a sea, called 
the Mediterranean ; fancy this is a ship — yonder is the land ; 
fancy that we live ; and even fancy death.” 

“ Corpo di Bacco ! Signor Andrea,” exclaimed the other, 
stopping short at the foot of the ladder, and seizing his 
companion by a button, afraid he would desert him in the 
midst of a strange delusion, ‘ ‘ you would not trifle in such a 
matter with an old friend ; one who has known you from 
childhood ! Fancy that I am alive ! ” 

“ Si ; I have told you only the truth. The imagination is 
very strong, and may easily give the semblance of reality to 
unreal things.” 

‘ ‘ And that I am not a podesta in fact, but one only in 
fancy ! ” 

“Just so, fnend Vito ; and that I am only a vice-governa- 
tore, too, in the imagination.” 

“ And that Elba is not a real island, or Porto Ferrajo a 
real town ; and that even all our iron, of which we seem to 
send so much about the world, in good, wholesome ships, is 
only a sort of ghost of solid, substantial metal ! ” 

“Si, si ; that everything which appears to be material, is, 
in fact, imaginary ; iron, gold, or flesh.” 

“ And then I am not Vito Viti, but an impostor? What 
a rascally philosophy is this ! Why, both of us are as bad 
as this Sir Smees, if what you say be true, Vice-governatore 
— or make-believe Vice-governatore.” 


362 




“ Not an impostor, friend Vito ; for there is no real being 
of thy name, if thou art not he.” 

‘ ‘ Diavolo ! A pretty theory this, which would teach the 
young people of Elba that there is no actual podesta in the 
island, but only a poor, miserable, sham one ; no Vito Viti 
on earth. If they get to think this, God help the place, as 
to order and sobriety.” 

“ I do not think, neighbor, that you fully understand the 
matter, which may be owing to a want of clearness on my 
part ; but, as we are now on our way to visit an unfortunate 
prisoner, we may as well postpone the discussion to another 
time. There are many leisure moments on board a ship, to 
the language of which one is a stranger, that might be 
usefully and agreeably relieved by going into the subject 
more at large. ’ ’ 

“ Your pardon. Signor Andrea ; but there is no time like 
the present. Then, if the theory be true, there is no pris- 
oner at all — or, at the most, an imaginary one — and it can 
do Sir Smees no harm to wait ; while, on the other hand, 
I shall not have a moment’s peace until I learn whether 
there is such a man as Vito Viti or not, and whether I 
am he.” 

“Brother Vito, thou art impatient ; these things are not 
learned in a moment ; moreover, every system has a begin- 
ning and an end, like a book ; and who would ever become 
learned, that should attempt to read a treatise backwards ? ’ ’ 

“I know what is due to you. Signor Andrea, both on 
account of your higher rank and on account of your greater 
wisdom, and will say no more at present ; though to keep 
from thinking on a philosophy that teaches I am not a 
podesta, or you a vice-govematore, is more than flesh and 
blood can bear.” 

Andrea Barrofaldi, glad that his companion was momen- 
tarily appeased, now proceeded towards Raoul’s little prison, 
and was immediately admitted by the sentry, who had his 
orders to that effect. The prisoner received his guests 
courteously and cheerfully ; for we are far from wishing to 
represent him as so heroic as not to rejoice exceedingly at 
having escaped death by hanging, even though it might prove 




363 


to be a respite, rather than a pardon. At such a moment, 
the young man could have excused a much more offensive 
intrusion, and the sudden change in his prospects disposed 
him a little to be jocular ; for truth compels us to add, that 
gratitude to God entered but little into his emotions. The 
escape from death, like his capture, and the other incidents 
of his cruise, was viewed simply as the result of the fortune 
of war. 

Winchester had directed that Raoul’s state-room should 
be supplied with every little convenience that his situation 
required, and, among other things, it had two common ship’s 
stools. One of these was given to each of the Italians, while 
the prisoner took a seat on the gun-tackle of one of the two 
guns that formed the sides of his apartment. It was now 
night, and a mist had gathered over the arch above, which 
hid the stars, and rendered it quite dark. Still, Raoul had 
neither lamp nor candles ; and, though they had been offered 
him, he declined their use, as he had found stranger eyes 
occasionally peeping through the openings in the canvas, 
with the idle curiosity of the vulgar, to ascertain the appear- 
ance and employments of one condemned to die. He had 
experienced a good deal of annoyance from this feeling the 
previous night ; and the same desire existing to see how a 
criminal could bear a respite, he had determined to pass his 
evening in obscurity. There was a lantern or two, however, 
on the gun-deck, which threw a dim light even beyond the 
limits of the canvas bulkheads. As has been said already, 
these bulkheads extended from gun to gun, so as to admit 
light and air from the ports. This brought the tackles, on 
one side, into the room ; and on one of these Raoul now 
took his seat. 

Andrea Barrofaldi, from his superior condition in life, as 
well as from his better education and nicer natural tact, far 
surpassed his companion in courtesy of demeanor. The lat- 
ter would have plunged in medias res at once, but the vice- 
governatore commenced a conversation on general matters, 
intending to offer his congratulations for the recent respite 
when he conceived that a suitable occasion should arise. 
This was an unfortunate delay in one respect ; for Vito Viti 


3^4 




no sooner found that the main object of the visit was to be 
postponed, than he turned with eagerness to the subject in 
discussion, which had been interrupted in order to enter the 
state-room. 

‘ ‘ Here has the vice-governatore come forward with a 
theory, Sir Smees,” he commenced, the moment a pause in 
the discourse left him an opening, — “here has the vice- 
govematore come forward with a theory that I insist the 
Church would call damnable, and at which human nature 
revolts — ” 

“Nay, good Vito, thou dost not state the case fairly,” 
interrupted Andrea, whose spirit was a little aroused at so 
abrupt an assault. “ The theory is not mine ; it is that of 
a certain English philosopher, in particular, who, let it be 
said, too, was a bishop.” 

“ A Lutheran ! was it not so, honorable Signor Andrea? 
a bishop so called ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Why, to confess the truth, he was a heretic, and not to 
be considered as an apostle of the true Church.” 

“Ay; I would have sworn to that. No true son of 
the Church would ever broach such a doctrine. Only fancy. 
Signori, the number of imaginary fires, tongues, and other 
instruments of torture that would become necessary to carry 
on punishment under such a system ! To be consistent, even 
the devils ought to be imaginary.” 

‘ ‘ Comment, Signori ! ’ ’ exclaimed Raoul, smiling, and 
arousing to a sudden interest in the discourse; “did any 
English bishop ever broach such a doctrine ? Imaginary 
devils, and imaginary places of punishment, are coming near 
to our revolutionary France ! After this, I hope our much 
abused philosophy will meet with more respect.” 

“ My neighbor has not understood the theory of which he 
speaks,” answered Andrea, too good a churchman not to feel 
uneasiness at the direction things were taking: “and so, 
worthy Vito Viti, I feel the necessity of explaining the 
whole matter at some length. Sir Smees,” — so the Italians 
called Raoul, out of courtesy still, it being awkward for 
them, after all that had passed, to address him by his real 
name, — “Sir Smees will excuse us for a few minutes ; per- 


365 

haps it may serve to amuse him to hear to what a flight the 
imagination of a subtle-minded man can soar.” 

Raoul civilly expressed the satisfaction it would give him 
to listen, and stretching himself on the gun-tackle, in order 
to be more at ease, he leaned back, with his head fairly 
within the port, while his feet were braced against the inner 
truck of the gun-carriage. This threw him into a somewhat 
recumbent attitude, but it being understood as intended to 
render what was but an inconvenient seat at the best toler- 
ably comfortable, no one thought it improper. 

It is unnecessary for us to repeat here all that Andrea 
Barrofaldi thought proper to say in his own justification, and 
in explanation of the celebrated theory of Bishop Berkeley. 
Such a task was not performed in a minute ; and, in truth, 
prolixity, whenever he got upon a favorite theme, was apt to 
be one of the vice-go vernatore’s weaknesses. He was far 
from acquiescing in the doctrine, though he annoyed his old 
neighbor exceedingly, by presenting the subject in such a 
way as to render it respectable in appearance, if not conclu- 
sive in argument. To the latter it was peculiarly unpleas- 
ant to imagine, even for the sake of argument, that there 
was no such island as Klba, and that he was not its podest^ ; 
and all his personal and egotistical propensities came in aid 
of his official reluctance, to disgust him thoroughly with a 
theory that he did not hesitate to say, ‘ ‘ was an outrage on 
every honest man’s nature.” 

“There are fellows in the world. Signor Andrea,” the 
straightforward podesta urged, in continuation of his objec- 
tions, “ who might be glad enough to find everything ima- 
ginary, as you say — chaps that cannot sleep of nights, for 
bad consciences, and to whom it would be a great bless- 
ing if the earth would throw them overboard, as they 
say in this ship, and let them fall into the great ocean 
of oblivion. But they are baroni in grain, and ought 
not to pass for anything material, among honest people. 
I ’ve known several of those rogues at Tivorno, and I dare 
say Napoli is not altogether without them ; but that is a very 
different matter from telling a handsome and virtuous young 
maiden, that her beauty and modesty are both seeming ; and 


366 




respectable magistrates, that they are as great impostors as 
the very rogues they send to the prisons ; or, perhaps, 
to the galleys.” 

To speeches like these, Andrea opposed his explanations 
and his philosophy, until the discussion became animated, 
and the dialogue loud. It is rather a peculiarity of Italy, that 
one of the softest languages of Christendom is frequently 
rendered harsh and unpleasant by the mode of using it. On 
this occasion, certainly, the animation of the disputants did 
not mitigate the evil. Griffin happened to pass the spot, on 
the outside of the canvas, just at this moment, and, catching 
some of the words, he stopped to listen. His smiles and 
translations soon collected a group of officers, and the sentry 
respectfully dropping a little on one side, the deck around 
the state-room of the prisoner became a sort of parquet to a 
very amusing representation. Several of the young gentle- 
men understood a little Italian, and Griffin translating 
rapidly, though in an under-tone, the whole affair was 
deemed to be particularly diverting. 

“This is a rum way of consoling a man who is condemned 
to die,” muttered the master ; “I wonder the Frenchman 
stands all their nonsense.” 

“ O ! ” rejoined the marine officer, “ drill will do anything. 
These Revolutionists are so drilled into hypocrisy, that, I 
dare say, the fellow is grinning the whole time, as if perfectly 
delighted.” 

Raoul, in fact, listened with no little amusement. At first, 
his voice was occasionally heard in the discussion, evidently 
aiming at exciting the disputants ; but the warmth of the 
latter soon silenced him, and he was fain to do nothing but 
listen. Shortly after the discussion got to be warm, and just 
as Griffin was collecting his group, the prisoner stretched 
himself still farther into the port, to enjoy the coolness of the 
evening breeze, when, to his surprise, a hand was laid gently 
on his forehead. 

“ Hush ! ” whispered a voice close to his ear, “ it is the 
American — Ithuel — ^be cool ; now is the moment to pull for 
life.” 

Raoul had too much self-command to betray his astonish- 




367 


ment, but, in an instant, every faculty he possessed was on the 
alert. Ithuel, he knew, was a man for exigencies. Exper- 
ience had taught him a profound respect for his enterprise 
and daring, when it became necessary to act. Something 
must certainly be in the wind, worthy of his attention, or 
this cautious person would not have exposed himself in 
a situation which would be sure to lead to punishment, if 
detected. Ithuel was seated astride of one of the chains, be- 
neath the main-channel of the ship, a position which might 
be maintained without detection, possibly, so long as it con- 
tinued dark ; but which, in itself, if seen, would have been 
taken as a proof of an evil intention. 

“What would you have, Etooell?” whispered Raoul, 
who perceived that his companions were too much occupied 
to observe his movements, or to hear his words. 

“The ^^talian, and his niece, are about to go ashore. 
Everything is ready and understood. I ’ve consaited you 
might pass out of the port, in the dark, and escape in the 
boat. Keep quiet ; we shall see. ’ ’ 

Raoul understood his respite to be a thing of doubtful 
termination. Under the most favorable results, an English 
prison remained in perspective, and then the other side of the 
picture offered the image of Ghita to his eye ! He was in a 
tumult of feeling, but, accustomed to self-command, no excla- 
mation escaped him. 

“When, cher Etooell? — when?” he asked, his whisper 
being tremulous, in spite of every effort to command him- 
self. 

“Now; too-der-sweet (tout-de-suite); the boat is at the 
gangway, and old Giuntotardi is in her ; they are rigging a 
chair for the gal. Ay, there she swings off ! don’t you hear 
the call ? ” 

Raoul did hear the whistle of the boatswain, which was 
piping ‘ ‘ lower away’ ’ at that very moment. He listened 
intently, as he lay stretched upon the gun-tackles ; and then 
he heard the splash in the water, as the boat was hauled 
closer to, in order to be brought beneath the chair. The 
rattling of oars, too, was audible, as Ghita left the seat, and 
moved aft. “ Round in,” called out the officer of the deck, 


368 




after -which Carlo Giuntotardi was left in quiet possession of 
his own boat. 

The moment was exceedingly critical. Some one, in all 
probability, was watching the boat from the deck ; and, 
though the night was dark, it required the utmost caution 
to proceed with any hopes of success. At this instant, 
Ithuel again whispered, — 

“The time’s near. Old Carlo has his orders, and little 
Ghita is alive to see them obeyed. All now depends on 
silence and activity. In less than five minutes, the boat will 
be under the port.” 

Raoul understood the plan ; but it struck him as hope- 
less. It seemed impossible that Ghita could be permitted 
to quit the ship without a hundred eyes watching her move- 
ments ; and though it was dark, it was far from being suffi- 
ciently so, to suppose it practicable for any one to join her 
and not be seen. Yet this risk must be taken, or escape 
was out of the question. An order given through the trum- 
pet was encouraging; it announced that the officer of the 
watch was employed at some duty that must draw his atten- 
tion another way. This was a great deal ; few presuming 
to look aside while this functionary was inviting their atten- 
tion in another direction. Raoul’s brain was in a whirl. 
The two Italians were at the height of their discussion ; and 
fortunately, the clamor they made was at the loudest. Even 
the suppressed laughter of the officers on the outside of the 
canvas, was audible to him ; though the disputants could 
hear nothing but their own voices. Every knock of the 
boat against the ship’s side, every sound of the oars, as 
Carlo’s foot rattled them about, and the wash of the water, 
was audible. It seemed as if all the interests of life — the 
future, the past, and the present, together with the emotions 
of his whole heart, were compressed into that single instant. 
Ignorant of what was expected, he asked Ithuel, in French, 
the course he ought to take. 

“Am I to fall head- foremost into the water? What 
would you have of me ? ’ ’ he whispered. 

“ Eie quiet, till I tell you to move. I ’ll make the signal, 
Captain Rule ; let the Eyetalians blaze away.’’ 




369 


Raoul could not see the water, as he lay with his head 
fairly in the port ; and he had to trust entirely to the single 
sense of hearing. Knock, knock, knock ; the boat dropped 
slowly along the ship’s side, as if preparing to shove off. 
All this. Carlo Giuntotardi managed exceedingly well. 
When he lay immediately beneath the main-channels, it 
^ would not have been an easy thing to see his boat, even had 
there been any one on the lookout. Here he held on : for 
he was not so lost to external things, as not fully to under- 
stand what was expected of him. Perhaps he was less 
attended to by those on deck, from the circumstance that 
no one believed him capable of so much worldly care. 

“Is everything safe for a movement, in-board?’’ whis- 
pered Ithuel. 

Raoul raised his head and looked about him. That a 
group was collected around the state-room he understood 
by the movements, the low conversation, and the suppressed 
laughter ; still, no one seemed to be paying any attention 
to himself. As he had not spoken for some time, however, 
he thought it might be well to let his voice be heard ; and 
taking care that it should sound well within the port, he 
made one of the light objections to the vice-governatore’s 
theory, that he had urged at the commencement of the 
controversy. This was little heeded, as he expected ; but it 
served to make those without know that he was in his prison, 
and might prevent an untimely discovery. Everything else 
seemed propitious ; and lying down again at his length, his 
face came within a few inches of Ithuel’s. 

“All safe,” he whispered; “what would you have me 
do?” 

‘ ‘ Nothing, but shove yourself ahead carefully, by means 
of your feet.” 

This Raoul did ; at first, as it might be, inch by inch, 
until Ithuel put the end of a rope into his hands, telling 
him it was well fast to the channel above. The rope ren- 
dered the rest easy ; the only danger now being of too much 
precipitation. Nothing would have been easier than for 
Raoul to drag his body out at the port, and to drop into the 
boat, but, to escape, it was still necessary to avoid observa- 
24 


370 




tion. The ship was quite half a league from the point of 
Campanella, and directly abreast of it ; and there was no ! 
security to the fugitives unless they got some distance the | 
start of any pursuers. This consideration induced the j 
utmost caution on the part of Ithuel; nor was it entirely | 
lost on his friend. By this time, however, Raoul found he 
was so completely master of his movements, as to be able j 
to swing his legs out of the port, by a very trifling efibrt ; i 
then the descent into the boat would be the easiest thing j 
imaginable. But a pressure from the hand of Ithuel checked ' 
him. i 

“Wait a little,” whispered the latter, “till the Kyetal- 
ians are at it, cat and dog fashion.” l 

The discussion was now so loud and warm, that it was | 
not necessary to lose much time. Ithuel gave the signal, , 
and Raoul dragged his head and shoulders up by his arms, 
while he placed his feet against the gun ; the next moment, 
he was hanging perpendicularly beneath the main-chains. 

To drop lightly and noiselessly into the boat, took but a 
second. When his feet touched athwart he found that the 
American was there before him. The latter dragged him 
down to his side, and the two lay concealed in the bottom of 
the yawl, with a cloak of Ghita’s thrown over their persons. 
Carlo Giuntotardi was accustomed to the management of a 
craft like that in which he now found himself, and simply 
releasing his boat-hook from one of the chains, the ship 
passed slowly ahead, leaving him, in about a minute, fairly 
in her wake, a hundred feet astern. 

So far, everything had succeeded surprisingly. The night 
was so dark as to embolden the two fugitives now to rise, 
and to take their seats on the thwarts ; though all this was 
done with exceeding caution, and without the least noise. 
The oars were soon out. Carlo took the tiller, and a feeling 
of exultation glowed at the heart of Raoul, as he bent 
to his ashen implement, and felt the boat quiver with the 
impulse. 

“Take it coolly. Captain Rule,” said Ithuel in a low 
voice ; “ it ^s a long pull, and we are still within ear-shot of 
the frigate. In five minutes more we shall be dropped so 




371 


far, as to be beyond sight ; then we may pull directly out 
to sea, if we wish.” 

Just then the bell of the Proserpine struck four ; the 
signal it was eight o’clock. Immediately after, the watch 
was called, and a stir succeeded in the ship. 

“They only turn the hands up,” said Raoul, who per- 
ceived that his companion paused, like one uneasy. 

“ That is an uncommon movement for shifting the watch ! 
What is that f ” 

It was clearly the overhauling of tackles ; the plash of a 
boat, as it struck the water, followed. 




CHAPTER XXIV. 

** Our dangers and delights are near allies ; 

From the same stem the rose and prickle rise.’* 

AIvI^Eyn. 

I T has been seen that a generous sympathy had taken 
place of hostile feeling, as respects Raoul, in the minds 
of most on board the Proserpine. Under the influence 
of this sentiment, an order had been passed through 
the sentries, not to molest their prisoner by too frequent or 
unnecessary an examination of the state-room. With a view 
to a proper regard to both delicacy and watchfulness, how- 
ever, Winchester had directed that the angle of the canvas 
nearest the cabin-door lantern should be opened a few inches, 
and that the sentinel should look in every half hour ; or as 
often as the ship’s bell told the progress of time. The ob- 
ject was simply to be certain that the prisoner was in his 
room, and that he was making no attempt on his own life ; 
a step that had been particularly apprehended previously to 
the respite. Now, the whole of the dispute between the 
two Italians, and that which had passed beneath the ship’s 
channels, did not occupy more than six or seven minutes ; 
and the little cluster of officers was still gaining recruits, 
when Raoul was fairly in the yawl of his own lugger. At 
this moment the ship’s bell struck the hour of eight. The 
marine advanced, with the respect of a subordinate, but 
with the steadiness of a man on post, to examine the state- 
room. Although the gentlemen believed this caution un- 
necessary, the loud voices of Andrea and Vito Viti being 
of themselves a sort of guarantee that the prisoner was in 
his cage, they gave way to a man, fully understanding that 
a sentinel was never to be resisted. The canvas was 

372 




373 


opened a few inches, the light of the lantern at the cabin- 
door shot in, and there sat the vice-governatore and the 
podest^, gesticulating and staring into each other’s faces, still 
in hot dispute ; but the place of Raoul Yvard was empty ! 

Yelverton happened to look into the room with the sen- 
tinel. He was a young man of strong powers of percep- 
tion, with all the phrenological bumps that are necessary to 
the character, and he saw, at a glance, that the bird had 
flown. The first impression was, that the prisoner had 
thrown himself into the sea, and he rushed on deck without 
speaking to those around him, made a hurried statement to 
the officer of the watch, and had a quarter-boat in the 
water in a surprisingly short time. His astonished compan- 
ions below were less precipitate, though the material fact 
was soon known to them. Griffin gave a hasty order, and 
the canvas bulkhead came down, as it might be, at a single 
jerk, leaving the two disputants in full view, utterly uncon- 
scious of the escape of their late companion, sputtering and 
gesticulating furiously. 

“Hallo! Vice-govematore,” cried Griffin, abruptly, for 
he saw that the moment was not one for ceremony ; “ what 
have you done with the Frenchman? — where is Raoul 
Yvard ? ’ ’ 

“II Signor Sir Smees? Monsieur Yvard, if you will? 
Neighbor Vito, what, indeed, has become of the man who 
so lately sat there f “ 

“Cospetto! — according to your doctrine. Signor An- 
drea, there never was a man there at all — only the imag- 
ination of one ; it is not surprising that such a being should 
be missed. But I protest against any inferences being 
drawn from this accident. All Frenchmen are flighty and 
easily carried away, and now that they are no longer bal- 
lasted by religion, they are so many moral feathers. No, 
no ; let a man of respectable information, of sound prin- 
ciples, and a love for the saints, with a good, substantial 
body, like myself, vanish only once, and then I may confess, 
it will tell in favor of your logic, Vice-governatore.” 

“An obstinate man, neighbor Vito, is a type of the 
imperfections that a — ” 


374 




“Your pardon, Signor Barrofaldi,” interrupted Griffin, 
“this is not a moment for philosophical theories, but for 
us seamen to do our duty. What has become of Raoul 
Yvard — your Sir Smees ? “ 

“Signor Tenente, as I hope to be saved, I have not the 
smallest idea ! There he was, a minute or two since, seated 
by that cannon, apparently an attentive and much edified 
auditor of a discussion we were holding on the celebrated 
theory of a certain bishop of your own country ; which 
theory, rightly considered — mind I say rightly considered, 
neighbor Vito ; for the view you have taken of this matter 
is — “ 

“Enough of this, for the present. Signori,” — added 
Griffin. “The Frenchman was in this place when you 
came here ? ” 

“He was. Signor Tenente, and seemed greatly to enjoy 
the discussion in which — ” 

“And you have not seen him quit you through the 
canvas, or the port ? ” 

“Not I, on my honor; I did suppose him too much 
entertained to leave us.” 

“ Ah ! Sir Smees has just vanished into the imagination,” 
growled the podesta, ‘ ‘ which is going home to the great 
logical family of which he is an ideal member ! There 
being no lugger, no corsair, no sea, and no frigate, it seems 
to me that we are all making a stir about nothing. ’ ’ 

Griffin did not stop to question further. He was quickly 
on deck, where he found Cuffe, who had just been brought 
out of his cabin by a hurried report. 

“What the d 1 is the meaning of all this, gentle- 

men?” demanded the latter, in that tone which a com- 
mander so naturally assumes when things go wrong. 

‘ ‘ Whoever has suffered the prisoner to escape may expect 
to hear from the admiral directly, on the subject.” 

“ He is not in his state-room, sir,” answered Griffin, “ and 
I directed the boatswain to pipe away all the boats’ crews, 
as I came up the ladder. ’ ’ 

As this was said, boat after boat was falling, and, in two 
or three minutes, no less than five were in the water, in- 


TKIlin0s*anbs*Min0 


375 


eluding that in which Yelverton was already rowing round 
the ship, to catch the presumed swimmer, or drowning man. 

“ The Frenchman is gone, sir,” said Winchester, “and he 
must have- passed out of the port. I have sent one of the 
gentlemen to examine if he is not stowed away about the 
chains.” 

“ Where is the boat of the old Italian and his niece ? ” 

A pause succeeded this question, and light broke in upon 
all at the same instant. 

“That yawl was alongside,” cried Griffin; “ no one was 
in her, however, but Giuntotardi and the girl.” 

“Beg your pardon, sir,” said the young fore-top-man, 
who had just descended the rigging, “I saw the boat 
from aloft, sir, and it hung some time, sir, under the star- 
board main-chains. It was so dark, I couldn’t fairly make 
it out ; but summat seemed to be passed into it, from a 
port. I didn’t like the look of the thing, and so our cap- 
tain just told me to come on deck, and report it, sir.” 

‘ ‘ Send Ithuel Bolt here, Mr. Winchester ; bear a hand, 
sir, and let us have a look at that gentleman.” 

It is needless to say that the call was unanswered ; and 
then all on board began to understand the mode of escape. 
Officers rushed into the several boats, and no less than five 
different parties commenced the pursuit. At the same time 
the ship hoisted a lantern, as a signal for the boats to 
rally to. 

It has been said that the Proserpine, when this incident 
occurred, was off the point of the Campanella, distant about 
half a marine league. The wind was light at east, or was 
what is called the land breeze, and the vessel had about 
three knots way on her. The headland was nearly abeam, 
and she was looking up through the pass which separates 
Capri from the main, hauling round into the Bay of Na- 
ples, intending to anchor in the berth she had left the pre- 
vious day. The night was too dark to permit an object 
small as a boat to be seen at any distance, but the black 
mass of Capri was plainly visible in its outlines, towering 
into the air near two thousand feet ; while the formation of 
the coast on the other side might be traced with tolerable 


376 




certainty and distinctness. Such was the .state of things 
when the five boats mentioned quitted the ship. 

Yelverton had acted as if a man were overboard ; or, he 
had not waited for orders. While pulling round the ship 
alone, he caught sight, though very dimly, of the yawl, as 
it moved in towards the land ; and, without communicating 
with any on board, the truth flashed on his mind also, and 
he gave chase. When the other boats were ready, the two 
that were on the outside of the ship pulled off to seaward 
a short distance, to look about them in that direction ; while 
the two others, hearing the oars of the light gig in which 
Yelverton was glancing ahead, followed the sound, under 
the impression that they were in pursuit of the yawl. Such 
was the state of things at the commencement of an exceed- 
ingly vigorous and hot pursuit. 

As Raoul and Ithuel had been at work, while time was 
lost in doubt in and around the ship, they had got about 
three hundred yards the start of even Yelverton. The 
boat pulled unusually well ; and being intended for only 
two oars, it might be deemed full manned, with two as vig- 
orous hands in it as those it had. Still, it was not a match 
for the second gig, and the four chosen men who composed 
its crew, which was the boat taken by Yelverton, in the 
hurry of the moment. In a pull of a mile and a half, the 
yawl was certain to be overtaken ; and the practised ears 
of Raoul soon assured him of the fact. His own oars were 
muffled. He determined to profit by the circumstance, and 
turn aside, in the hope that his fleet pursuers would pass 
him unseen. A sheer was accordingly given to the boat, 
and instead of pulling directly towards the land, the fugi- 
tives inclined to the westward ; the sea appearing the most 
obscure in that direction, on account of the proximity of 
Capri. This artifice was completely successful. Yelverton 
was so eager in the chase, that he kept his eyes riveted be- 
fore him, fancying from time to time that he saw the boat 
ahead, and he passed within a hundred and fifty yards of 
the yawl, without in the least suspecting her vicinity. 
Raoul and Ithuel ceased rowing, to permit this exchange of 
position, and the former had a few sarcastic remarks on the 




377 


stupidity of his enemies, as some relief to the feelings of 
the moment. None of the English had muffled oars. On 
the contrary, the sounds of the regular man-of-war jerks 
were quite audible in every direction ; but so familiar were 
they to the ears of the Proserpines, that the crews of the 
two boats that came next after Yelverton, actually followed 
the sounds of his oars, under the belief that they were in 
the wake of the fugitives. In this manner, then, Raoul 
suffered three of the five boats to pass ahead of him. The 
remaining two were so distant as not to be heard; and 
when those in advance were sufflciently distant, he and 
Ithuel followed them, with a leisurely stroke, reserving them- 
selves for any emergency that might occur. 

It was a fair race between the gig and the two cutters 
that pursued her. The last had the sounds of the former’s 
oars in the ears of their crews to urge them to exertion, it 
being supposed they came from the strokes of the pursued ; 
while Yelverton was burning with the desire to outstrip 
those who followed, and to secure the prize for himself. 
This made easy work for those in the yawl, which was 
soon left more than a cable’s length astern. 

“ One would think, Ghita,” said Raoul, laughing, though 
he had the precaution to speak in an under- tone, “one 
would think that your old friends, the vice-governatore and 
the podesta, commanded the boats in-shore of us, were it 
not known that they are this very moment quarrelling 
about the fact whether there is such a place as Elba on this 
great planet of ours or not.” 

“ Ah ! Raoul, remember the last dreadful eight-and-forty 
hours ! do not stop to trifle until we are once more fairly 
beyond the power of your enemies.” 

“ Peste ! I shall be obliged to own, hereafter, that there 
is some generosity in an Englishman. I cannot deny their 
treatment, and yet I had rather it had been more ferocious.” 

‘ ‘ This is an unkind feeling : you should strive to tear it 
from your heart. ’ ’ 

“It’s a great deal to allow to an Englishman, Captain 
Rule, to allow him gineros’ty,” interrupted Ithuel. 
“They ’re a fierce race, and fatten on mortal misery. 


378 




“Mais, bon Ktooell, your back has escaped this time; 
you ought to be thankful. ’ ’ 

“ They ’re short-handed, and did n’t like to cripple a top- 
man,” answered he of the Granite State, unwilling to con- 
cede anything to liberal or just sentiments. “Had the 
ship’s complement been full, they wouldn’t have left as 
much skin on my back as would cover the smallest size pin- 
cushion. I owe ’em no thanks, therefore.” 

‘ ‘ Bien ; quant h moi, I shall speak well of the bridge 
which carries me over,” said Raoul. “ Monsieur Cuffe has 
given me good food, good wine, good words, a good state- 
room, a good bed, and a most timely reprieve.” 

‘ ‘ Is not your heart grateful to God for the last, dear 
Raoul ? ’ ’ asked Ghita, in a voice so gentle and tender that 
the young man could have bowed down and worshipped her. 

After a pause, however, he answered, as if intentionally 
to avoid the question by levity. 

“ I forgot the philosophy, too,” he said. “ That was no 
small part of the good Cheer. Ciel ! it was worth some 
risk to have the advantage of attending such a school. Did 
you understand the matter in dispute between the two 
Italians, brave Ktooell ? ’ ’ 

“ I heerd their .^d;alian jabber,” answered Ithuel ; “but 
supposed it was all about saints’ days and eating fish. No 
reasonable man makes so much noise when he is talking 
sense.” 

“ Pardie — it was philosophy ! They laugh at us French 
for living by the rules of reason rather than those of preju- 
dice ; and then to hear what they call philosophy ! You 
would scarce think it, Ghita,” continued Raoul, who was 
now light of heart, and full of the scene he had so lately 
witnessed, “you would hardly think it, Ghita, but Signor 
Andrea, sensible and learned as he is, maintained that it 
was not folly to believe in a philosophy which teaches that 
nothing we see or do actually exists, but that everything 
was mere seeming. In short, that we live in an imaginary 
world, with imaginary people in it ; float on an imaginary 
sea, and cruise in imaginary ships.” 

“And was all that noise about an idee, Captain Rule? ” 




379 


“ Si ; but men will quarrel about an idea — an imaginary 
thing, Ktooell, as stoutly as about substantials. Hist ! 
They will chase imaginary things, too, as are the boats 
ahead of us at this moment.” 

“There are others following us,” observed Carlo Giun- 
totardi, who was more alive to surrounding objects than 
common ; and who, from his habitual silence, often heard 
that which escaped the senses of others. “ I have noticed 
the sound of their oars some time.” 

This produced a pause, and even a cessation in the 
rowing, in order that the two seamen might listen. Sure 
enough, the sound of oars was audible outside, as well as 
in-shore, leaving no doubt that some pursuers were still 
behind them. This was bringing the fugitives between two 
fires, as it might be; and Ithuel proposed pulling off at 
right angles to the course again, in order to get into the 
rear of the whole party. But to this Raoul objected. He 
thought the boats astern were still so distant as to enable 
them to reach the shore in time to escape. Once on the 
rocks, there could be little danger of being overtaken in the 
darkness. Still, as it was a first object with Raoul to rejoin 
his lugger as soon as possible, after landing Ghita, he did 
not wish to place his boat in any situation of much risk. 
This induced some deliberation ; and it was finally deter- 
mined to take a middle course, by steering into the pass 
between Capri and Campanella, in the expectation that 
when the leading English boats reached the point of the 
latter, they would abandon the pursuit as hopeless, and 
return to the ship. 

“ We can land you, dearest Ghita, at the Marina Grande 
of Sorrento ; then your walk to St. Agata will be neither 
long nor painful.” 

‘ ‘ Do not mind me, Raoul ; put me on the land at the 
nearest place, and go you to your vessel. God has relieved 
you from this great jeopardy, and your duty is to strive 
to act as it is evident He intends you to do. As for me, 
leagues will be light, if I can only be satisfied that thou art 
in safety.” 

“Angel ! Thou never thinkest of self! But not a foot 


380 




this side of Sorrento will I quit thee. We can pull thither 
in an hour or two ; then I shall feel that I have done a 
duty. Once ashore, Etooell and I can set our little sail, and 
will run out to sea between the two islands. No fear but 
what we can do that, with this land breeze ; after which, a 
few rockets burned will tell us where to find Ee Feu-Follet. ’ ’ 

Ghita again remonstrated, but in vain. Raoul persisted, 
and she was obliged to submit. The conversation now 
ceased ; the two men plying the oars diligently, and to good 
effect. Occasionally they ceased, and listened to the sounds 
of the oars in the frigate’s boats, all which were evidently 
collecting in the vicinity of the point or cape. By this time 
the yawl had the extremity of the land abeam, and it soon 
passed so far into the bay as to bring most if not all of the 
pursuers astern. In the darkness, with no other guide than 
the sounds mentioned, and with so many pursuers, there 
was some uncertainty, of course, as to the position of all the 
boats ; but there was little doubt that most of them were 
now somewhere in the immediate vicinity of Campanella. 
As Raoul gave this point a good berth, and his own pro- 
gress was noiseless, this was bringing himself and compan- 
ions, after their recent dangers, into comparative security. 

More than an hour of steady rowing followed, during 
which time the yawl was making swift way towards the 
Marina Grande of Sorrento. After passing Massa, Raoul 
felt no further uneasiness, and he requested Carlo Giunto- 
tardi to sheer in towards the land, where less resistance 
from the breeze was met with, and where it was also easier 
to know the precise position. Apprehension of the boats 
now ceased, though Ithuel fancied, from time to time, that 
he heard smothered sounds, like those of oars imperfectly 
muffled. Raoul laughed at his conceits and apprehensions, 
and, to confess the truth, he became negligent of his duty, 
again, in the soothing delight of finding himself, once more 
free, in all but heart, in the company of Ghita. In this 
manner the yawl moved ahead, though with materially di- 
minished speed, until, by the formation of the heights, and 
the appearance of the lamps and candles on the piano, 
Ghita knew that they were drawing quite near to the in- 


Mtng*an&=Min0 381 

dentation of the coast on which is situate the town of 
Sorrento. 

“As soon as my uncle and myself have landed at the 
Marina Grande, Raoul,” said Ghita, “ thou and the Ameri- 
can will be certain to seek thy lugger ; then thou promisest 
to quit the coast ? ’ ’ 

“Why ask promises of one that thou dost not sufficiently 
respect to think he will keep them ? ’ ’ 

“ I do not deserve this, Raoul ; between thee and me no 
promise has ever been broken. ’ ’ 

“ It is not easy to break vows with one who will neither 
give nor accept them. I cannot boast of keeping such idle 
faith as this ! Go with me before some priest, Ghita, ask 
all that man ever has or can swear to, and then thou shalt 
see how a sailor can be true to his vow.” 

“And why before a priest? Thou know’st, Raoul, that, 
in thine eyes, all the offices of the Church are mummery ; 
that nothing is more sacred with thee, for being sworn to 
at the altar of God, and with one of his holy ministers for 
a witness ! ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Every oath or promise made to thee, Ghita, is sacred 
in my eyes. It wanteth not any witness, or any consecrated 
place, to make it more binding than thy truth and tender- 
ness can insure. Thou art my priest — my altar — my — ” 

“Eorbear!” exclaimed Ghita, in alarm, lest he should 
utter the name of that holy Being towards whom her heart 
was even at that moment swelling with gratitude for his 
own recent escape from death; “Thou know’st not the 
meaning of thine own words, and might’ st add that which 
would give me more pain than I can express. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Boat, ahoy ! ’ ’ cried a deep, nautical voice, within 
twenty yards of them, and in-shore ; the hail coming in the 
sudden, quick demand that distinguishes the call of a man- 
of-war’s man. 

A pause of half a minute succeeded, for they in the yawl 
were completely taken by surprise. 

At length Ithuel, who felt the necessity of saying some- 
thing, if he would not bring the stranger close alongside of 
them, answered in the customary manner of the Italians. 


382 




Clinch, for it was he, scouring the shore in quest of the 
lugger, on his way back to the Proserpine, gave a growl 
when he found that he must speak in a foreign tongue, if 
he would continue the discourse ; then he mustered all the 
Italian of which he was master for the occasion. Having 
cruised long on the station, this was sufficient, however, for 
his present purpose. 

“Is that a boat from Massa or from Capri?” he in- 
quired. 

“Neither, S’nore,” answered Raoul, afraid to trust 
Carlo’s conscience with the management of such a dialogue. 

‘ ‘ We came round the cape, from St. Agata, and carry figs 
to Napoli.” 

“St. Agata, ay, that is the village on the heights; I 
passed a night there myself, in the house of one Maria 
Giuntotardi — ’ ’ 

“Who can this be?” murmured Ghita; “my aunt 
knows no forestieri ! ’ ’ 

“An Inglese, by his thick speech and accent. I hope he 
will not ask for figs for his supper ! ” 

Clinch was thinking of other things at that moment; 
and when he continued, it was to follow the train of his 
own thoughts. 

“Have you seen anything of a barone-looking lugger,” 
he asked, “French-rigged, and French-manned, skulking 
anywhere about this coast ? ’ ’ 

“Si ; she went north, into the Gulf of Gaeta, just as the 
sun was setting, and is, no doubt, gone to anchor under the 
cannon of her countrymen. ’ ’ 

“ If she has, she’ll find herself in hot water,” answered 
Clinch, in English. “We’ve craft enough up there, to 
hoist her in and dub her down to a jolly-boat’s size, in a 
single watch. Did you see anything of a frigate this even- 
ing, near the Point of Campanella ? — an Inglese, I mean ; 
a tight six-and-thirty, with three new topsails.” 

“Si ; the light you see here, just in a range with Capri, 
is at her gaff; we have seen her the whole afternoon and 
evening. In fact, she towed us kindly round the cape, until 
we got fairly into this bay.” 


“Then you are the people for me! Was there a man 
hanged on board her or not, about sunset ? ” 

This question was put with so much interest, that Raoul 
cursed his interrogator in his heart ; imagining that he was 
burning with the wish to learn his own execution. He was 
also now aware that this was the boat which had left the 
Proserpine about noon. 

“ I can tell you there was not, S’nore, if that will gladden 
your heart. A man was all ready to be hanged, when Cap- 
tain Cuffe was pleased to order him taken down.” 

“Just as three heavy guns were fired up at town ; was it 
not so ? ” Clinch eagerly inquired. 

‘ ‘ Diable 1 this man may have been my preserver, after 
all I You say true, S’nore ; it was just as three guns were 
fired up at Naples, though I did not know those guns had 
anything to do with the intended execution. Can you tell 
me if they had ? ” 

‘ ‘ If they had I Why, I touched them off with my own 
hands ; they were signals made by the admiral to spare poor 
Raoul Yvard, for a few days, at least. I am rejoiced to hear 
that all my great efforts to reach the fleet were not in vain. 
I don’t like this hanging, Mr. Italian.” 

“S’nore, you show a kind heart, and will one day reap 
the reward of such generous feelings. I wish I knew the 
name of so humane a gentleman, that I might mention him 
in my prayers.” 

“ They ’ll never fancy that Captain Rule said mut- 

tered Ithuel, grinning. 

“As for my name, friend, it’s no great matter. They 
call me Clinch, which is a good fast word to sail under, too ; 
but it has no handle to it, other than of a poor devil of a 
master’s-mate; and that, too, at an age when some men 
carry broad pennants.” 

This was said bitterly, and in English ; when uttered, 
the supposed Italian was wished a “ Buona sera,” and the 
gig proceeded. 

“That is un brave,” said Raoul, with emphasis, as they 
departed. “ If ever I meet with Monsieur Cleench, he will 
learn that I do not forget his good wishes. Peste I if there 


3^4 




were a hundred such men in the British marine, Ktooell, 
we might love it.” 

“They’re fiery sarpents, Captain Rule, and not to be 
trusted, any on ’em. As for fine words, I might have 
fancied myself a cousin of the king’s, if I ’d only put my 
name to their shipping articles. This Mr. Clinch is well 
enough in the main ; being his own worst inimy, in the way 
of the grog pitcher.” 

“ Boat, ahoy ! ” shouted Clinch again, now about a hun- 
dred yards distant, having passed towards the cape. Raoul 
and Ithuel mechanically ceased rowing, under the impres- 
sion that the master’s-mate had still something to com- 
municate. 

“Boat, ahoy ! Answer at once, or you ’ll hear from me,” 
repeated Clinch. 

“Ay, ay,” answered another voice, which, in fact, was 
Yelverton’s ; “Clinch, is that you ? ” 

“Ay, ay, sir; Mr. Yelverton, is it not? I think I know 
the voice, sir.” 

“You are quite right, but make less noise ; who was that 
you hailed a minute or two since ? ’ ’ 

Clinch began to answer ; but, as the two gigs were 
approaching each other all the time, they were soon so 
near as to render it unnecessary to speak loud enough to be 
heard at any distance. All this time, Raoul and Ithuel lay 
on their oars, almost afraid to stir the water, and listening 
with an attention that was nearly breathless. They were 
satisfied that the oars of the English were now muJffled ; a 
sign that they were in earnest in the pursuit, and bent on 
making a thorough search. The two gigs could not be 
more than a hundred yards from the yawl, and Ithuel knew 
that they were the two fastest-rowing boats of the English 
fleet ; so fast, indeed, that Cuffe and his lieutenants had 
made several successful matches with them, against the 
officers of different vessels. 

“Hist!” said Ghita, whose heart was in her mouth. 
“ O ! Raoul, they come ! ” 

Coming, indeed, were they ; and that with vast velocity. 
So careful, however, was the stroke, that they were within 


385 

two hundred feet of the yawl before Raoul and his com- 
panion took the alarm, and plunged their own oars again 
into the water. Then, indeed, the gigs might be dimly 
seen ; though the shadows of the land deepened the obscu- 
rity of night so far, as to render objects at even a less dis- 
tance quite indistinct. The suddenness and imminency of 
the danger appeared to arouse all there was of life in Carlo 
Giuntotardi. He steered, and steered well, being accus- 
tomed to the ofiSce, by living so long on the coast ; and he 
sheered in for the rocks, with the double view of landing, if 
necessary, and of getting still deeper within the shadows. 
It was soon evident the Knglish gained. Four oars against 
two were fearful odds ; it was plainly apparent the yawl 
must be overtaken. 

‘ ‘ O, uncle ! towards the arch and water-cavern of the 
point,” whispered Ghita, whose hands were clasped on her 
breast, as if to keep down her emotions. “ That may yet 
save him ! ’ ’ 

The yawl was in the act of whirling round the rocks 
which form the deep cove on which the Marina Grande of 
Sorrento lies. Carlo caught his niece’s idea, and he kept 
his tiller hard a-port, telling Raoul and Ithuel, at the same 
time, to take in their oars as quick as possible. The men 
obeyed, supposing it was the intention to land and take to 
the heights for shelter. But just as they supposed the boat 
was about to strike against some perpendicular rocks, and 
Raoul was muttering his surprise that such a spot should be 
chosen to land at, it glided through a low, natural arch, and 
entered a little basin as noiselessly as a bubble floating 
in a current. 

The next minute, the two gigs came whirling round the 
rocks ; one following the shore close in, to prevent the fugi- 
tives from landing, and the other steering more obliquely 
athwart the bay. In still another minute, they had passed 
a hundred yards ahead, and the sound of their movements 
was lost. 



25 



CHAPTER XXV. 

** And chiefly thou, O spirit, that dost prefer, 

Before all temples, the upright heart and pure, 

Instruct me ; for thou know’st ! ” 

Mii^TON. 

T he Spot in which Carlo Giuntotardi had taken 
refuge is well known on the Sorrentine shore, as 
the water-cavern at the ruins of Queen Joan’s 
country-house. Cavern it is not, though the en- 
trance is beneath a low, natural arch, the basin within being 
open to the heavens, and the place resembling an artificial ex- 
cavation made to shelter boats. Eet the origin of this little 
haven be what it may, art could not have devised a more con- 
venient or a more perfect refuge than it afforded to our fugi- 
tives. Once through the arch, they would have been effectu- 
ally concealed from their pursuers imder a noonday sun ; nor 
would any, who were unacquainted with the peculiarities of 
the entrance, dream of a boat’s lying, as it might be, buried 
in the rocks of the little promontory. Neither Ghita nor her 
uncle any longer felt concern ; but the former announced her 
intention to land here, assuring Raoul that she could easily 
find her way into the bridle-path which leads to St. Agata. 

The desperate character of the recent chase, aided by his 
late almost miraculous escape from death, joined to the 
necessity of parting from his mistress, rendered our hero 
melancholy, if not moody. He could not ask Ghita to 
share his dangers any longer ; yet he felt, if he permitted 
her now to quit him, the separation might be forever. Still 
he made no objection ; but, leaving Ithuel in charge of the 
boat, he assisted Ghita up the funnel-like sides of the basin, 

386 




387 


and prepared to accompany her on her way to the road. 
Carlo preceded the pair, telling his niece that she would find 
him at a cottage on the way that was well known to both. 

The obscurity was not so great as to render the walking 
very difiicult, and Raoul and Ghita pursued their course 
slowly along the rocks, each oppressed with the same sensa- 
tion of regret at parting, though infiuenced by nearly oppos- 
ing views for the future. The girl took the yotmg man’s 
arm without hesitation ; and there was a tenderness in the 
tones of her voice, as well as in her general manner, that 
betrayed how nearly her heart was interested in what was 
passing. Still, principle was ever uppermost in her thoughts, 
and she determined now to speak plainly, and to the purpose. 

“Raoul,” she said, after listening to some one of those fer- 
vent declarations of love that were peculiarly agreeable to 
one of her affectionate and sincere nature, even when she 
most felt the necessity of repelling the insinuating suit, 
“there must be an end of this. I can never again go 
through the scenes I have lately witnessed, nor allow you to 
run such fearful risks. The sooner we understand each 
other, and, I may say, the sooner we part, it will be the wiser 
and the better for the interests of both. I. blame myself for 
suffering the intimacy to last so long, and for proceeding 
so far.” 

“And this is said by a fervent-souled Italian girl ! One 
of eighteen years ; who comes of a region in which it is the 
boast that the heart is even warmer than the sun ; of a race, 
among whom it is hard to find one — oui, even a poor one — 
who is not ready to sacrifice home, country, hopes, fortune, 
nay, life itself, to give happiness to the man who has chosen 
her from all the rest of her sex.” 

‘ ‘ It would seem to me easy to do all this, Raoul. Si, 
I think I could sacrifice everything you have named, to 
make you happy ! Home I have not, unless the prince’s 
towers can thus be called ; country, since the sad event of 
this week, I feel as if I had altogether lost ; of hopes, I have 
few in this world, with which your image has not been con- 
nected ; but, those which were once so precious to me, are 
now, I fear, lost ; you know I have no fortune, to tempt me 


388 




to stay, or you to follow ; as for my life, I fear it will soon 
be very valueless — am sure it will be miserable.” 

“Then why not decide at once, dearest Ghita, to throw 
the weight of your sorrows on the shoulders of one strong 
enough to bear them ? You care not for dress or gay appear- 
ances, and can take a bridegroom even with the miserable 
aspect of a lazzarone, when you know the heart is right. 
You will not despise me because I am not decked as I might 
be for the bridal. Nothing is easier than to find an altar 
and a priest among these monasteries ; and the hour for say- 
ing mass is not very distant. Give me a right to claim you, 
and I will appoint a place of rendezvous, bring in the lugger 
to-morrow night, and carry you off in triumph to our gay 
Provence ; where you will find hearts gentle as your own, to 
welcome you with joy, and call you sister.” 

Raoul was earnest in his manner, and it was not possible 
to doubt his sincerity. Though an air of self-satisfaction 
gleamed in his face, when he alluded to his present personal 
appearance, for he well knew all his advantages in that way, 
in spite of the dress of a lazzarone. 

“ Urge me not, dear Raoul,” Ghita answered, though un- 
consciously to herself she pressed closer to his side, and both 
sadness and love were in the very tones of her voice ; ‘ ‘ urge 
me not, dear Raoul ; this can never be. I have already told 
you the gulf that lies between us ; you will not cross it, to 
join me, and I cannot cross it, to join you. Nothing but 
that could separate us ; but that, to my eyes, grows broader 
and deeper every hour.” 

“Ah, Ghita, thou deceivest me, and thyself. Were thy 
feelings as thou fanciest, no human inducement could lead 
thee to reject me.” 

“It is not a human inducement, Raoul ; it is one above 
earth, and all it holds.” 

“ Peste ! These priests are scourges sent to torment men 
in every shape ! They inflict hard lessons in childhood, 
teach asperity in youth, and make us superstitious and silly 
in age. I do not wonder that my brave compatriots drove 
them from France ; they did nothing but devour like locusts, 
and deface the beauties of providence.” 


Mina^anb^Mtn^ 


3S9 


“Raoul, thou art speaking of the ministers of God!” 
Ghita observed meekly, but in sorrow. 

“ Pardon me, dearest Ghita ; I have no patience when I 
remember what a trifle, after all, threatens to tear us asunder. 
Thou pretendest to love me ? ” 

“It is not pretence, Raoul, but a deep, and I fear a pain- 
ful reality.” 

“To think that a girl so frank, with a heart so tender, 
and a soul so true, will allow any secondary thing to divide 
her from the man of her choice I ’ ’ 

“ It is not a secondary, but a primary thing, Raoul ; O I 
that I could make thee think so. The question is between 
thee and God; were it aught else, thou mightst indeed 
prevail.” 

“Why trouble thyself about my religion at all? Are 
there not thousands of wives who tell their beads, and repeat 
their aves, while their husbands think of anything but heaven? 
Thou and I can overlook this difference ; others overlook 
them, and keep but one heart between them still. I never 
would molest thee, Ghita, in thy gentle worship.” 

“ It is not thou that I dread, Raoul, but myself,” answered 
the girl, with streaming eyes, though she succeeded in sup- 
pressing the sobs that struggled for utterance. “ ‘ A house 
divided against itself cannot stand, ’ they say ; how could a 
heart that was filled with thee find a place for the love it 
ought to bear the author of its being ? When the husband 
lives only for the world, it is hard for the wife to think of 
heaven as she ought.” 

Raoul was deeply touched with the feeling Ghita betrayed, 
while he was ready to adore her for the confiding sincerity 
with which she confessed his power over her heart. His 
answer was given with seductive tenderness of manner, which 
proved that he was not altogether unworthy of the strange 
conflict he had created in so gentle a breast. 

“ Thy God will never desert thee, Ghita,” he said ; “ thou 
hast nothing to fear as my wife, or that of any other man. 
None but a brute could ever think of molesting thee in thy 
worship, or in doing aught that thy opinions render neces- 
sary or proper. I would tear the tongue from my mouth. 


390 




before reproach, sneer, or argument, should be used to bring 
thee pain, after I once felt that thou leanedst on me for sup- 
port. All that I have said has come from the wish that thou 
wouldst not misunderstand me in a matter that I know thou 
think’ St important.” 

“Ah, Raoul, little dost thou understand the hearts of 
women. If thy power is so great over me to-day, as almost 
to incline me from the most solemn of all my duties, what 
would it become when the love of a girl should turn into the 
absorbing affection of a wife ! I find it hard, even now, to 
reconcile the love I bear to God, with the strong feeling thou 
hast created in my heart. A year of wedded life would en- 
danger more than I can express to you in words.” 

“And then the fear of losing thy salvation is stronger 
than thy earthly attachments ? ’ ’ 

“ Nay, Raoul, it is not that. I am not selfish, or cowardly, 
as respects myself, I hope ; nor do I think at all of any pun- 
ishment that might follow from a marriage with an unbe- 
liever ; what I most apprehend, is being taught to love my 
God less than I feel I now do, or than, as the creature of 
his mercy, I ought. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Thou speakest as if man could rival the being whom 
thou worshippest. I have always understood, that the love 
we bear the Deity, and that we bear each other, are of a very 
different quality. I can see no necessity for their interfer- 
ing with each other.” 

” Nothing can be less alike, Raoul ; yet one may impair, 
if not destroy, the other. O, if thou wouldst but believe 
that thy Saviour was thy God — if thou couldst but be dead 
to his love, and not active against Him, I might hope for 
better things ; but I dare not pledge all my earthly duties 
to one who is openly an enemy of my own great Master and 
Redeemer.” 

‘ ‘ I will not, cannot deceive thee, Ghita ; that I leave to 
the priests. Thou know’st my opinions, and must take me 
as I am, or wholly reject me. This I say, though I feel that 
disappointment, if you persist in your cruelty, will drive me 
to some desperate act, by means of which I shall yet taste of 
the mercies of these E)nglish.” 




391 


“Say, not so, Raoul ; be prudent, for the sake of your 
fciountry — ’ ’ 

“ But not for thine, Ghita ? ” 

“Yes, Raoul, and for mine also. I wish not to conceal 
how much happier I shall be in hearing of your welfare and 
peace of mind. I fear, though an enemy, it will ever give 
me pleasure to learn that thou art victorious. But here is 
the road, yonder the cottage where my uncle waits for me, 
and we must part. Heaven bless thee, Raoul ; my prayers 
will be full of thee. Do not — do not risk more to see me ; 
but, if—” The heart of the girl was so full, that emotion 
choked her. Raoul listened intently for the next word, but 
he listened in vain. 

“If what, dear Ghita? Thou wert about to utter some- 
thing that I feel is encouraging. ’ ’ 

“ O ! how I hope it may be so, my poor Raoul ! I was 
going to add, if God ever touches thy heart, and thou 
woiildst stand before his altar, a believer, with one at thy 
side who is ready and anxious to devote aU to thee but her 
love of the Being who created her, and her treasures of future 
happiness, seek Ghita ; thou wilt find her thou wouldst have. ’ ’ 

Raoul stretched forth his arms, to clasp the tender girl to 
his bosom ; but, fearful of herself, she avoided him, and fled 
along the path, like one terrified with the apprehension of 
pursuit. The young man paused a moment, half inclined 
to follow ; then prudence regained its influence, and he be- 
thought him of the necessity of getting to a place of safety 
while it was yet night. The future was still before him, in 
hope, and that hope led him to look forward to other occa- 
sions to press his suit. 

lyittle, however, did Raoul Yvard, much as he prized her, 
know Ghita Caraccioli. Her nature was full of womanly 
sensibilities, it is true, and her heart replete with tenderness 
for him in particular ; but the adoration she paid to God was 
of that lasting character which endures to the end. In all 
she said and felt, she was truth itself ; and while no false 
shame interposed to cause her to conceal her attachment, 
there was a moral armor thrown about her purposes that ren- 
dered them impregnable to the assaults of the world. 


392 




Our hero found Ithuel sleeping in the boat, in perfect secur- 
ity. The Granite man thoroughly understood his situation, 
and foreseeing a long row before him, he had quietly lain down 
in the stern-sheet of the yawl, and was taking his rest as tran- 
quilly as he had ever done in his berth on board Te Feu-Fol- 
let. He was even aroused with difficulty, and he resumed 
the oar with reluctance. Before descending the funnel, Raoul 
had taken a survey of the water from the rocks above. He 
listened intently, to catch any sounds that might arise from 
the English boats. But nothing was visible in the obscurity, 
while distance or caution prevented anything from being au- 
dible. Satisfied that all was safe outside, he determined to 
row out into the bay, and, making a circuit to avoid his ene- 
mies, push to the westward, in the expectation of finding his 
lugger in the offing. As there was now a considerable land 
breeze, and the yawl was lightened of so much of her freight, 
there was little doubt of his being able to effect his purpose, 
so far as getting out of sight was concerned, at least, long 
ere the return of light. 

‘ ‘ Pardie, Etooell ! ’ ’ Raoul exclaimed, after he had given 
the American jog the third, “you sleep like a friar who is 
paid for saying masses at midnight. Come, mon ami ; now 
is our time to move ; all is clear outside.” 

“Well, natur’ they say is a good workman. Captain Rule,” 
answered Ithuel, gaping and rubbing his eyes ; “and never 
did she turn off a prettier hiding-place than this. One 
sleeps so quietly in it ! Heigho ! I suppose the ash must 
be kept moving, or we may yet miss our passage back to 
France. Shove her bows round. Captain Rule ; here is the 
hole, which is almost as hard to find as it is to thread a 
needle with a cable. A good shove, and she will shoot out 
into the open water.” 

Raoul did as desired. Ithuel touching the tiller, the yawl 
glided through the opening, and felt the long ground-swell 
of the glorious bay. The two adventurers looked about 
them with some concern, as they issued from their hiding- 
place, but the obscurity was too deep to bring anything in 
view on the face of the waters. The flashing that occasion- 
ally illuminated the summit of Vesuvius resembled heat 




393 


lightning, and would have plainly indicated the position of 
that celebrated mountain, had not its dark outlines been 
visible, exposing a black mass at the head of the bay. The 
ragged mountain-tops, behind and above Castel-a-Mare, 
were also to be traced, as was the whole range of the nearer 
coast, though that opposite was only discoverable by the 
faint glimmerings of a thousand lights, that were appearing 
and disappearing, like stars eclipsed, on the other side of the 
broad sheet of placid water. On the bay itself, little could 
be discerned ; under the near coast, nothing, the shadows of 
the rocks obscuring its borders with a wide belt of dark- 
ness. 

After looking around them quite a minute in silence, the 
men dropped their oars and began to pull from under the 
point, with the intention of making an offing before they set 
their little lugs. 

As they came out, the heavy flap of canvas, quite near, 
startled their ears, and both turned instinctively to look 
ahead. There, indeed, was a vessel, standing directly in, 
threatening even to cross their very track. She was close 
on a wind, with her larboard tacks aboard, and had evi- 
dently just shaken everything, in the expectation of luffing 
past the point without tacking. Could she succeed in this, 
it would be in her power to stand on, until compelled to go 
about beneath the very cliffs of the town of Sorrento. This 
was, in truth, her aim ; for again she shook all her sails. 

“ Peste ! ” muttered Raoul; “this is a bold pilot; he, 
hugs the rocks as if they were his mistress ! We must lie 
quiet, Ktooelle, and let him pass; else he may trouble us.” 

“’Twill be the wisest. Captain Rule; though I do not 
think him an Englishman. Hark ! The ripple under his 
bow is like that of a knife going through a ripe water- 
melon. ’ ’ 

“Mon Feu-Follet!” exclaimed Raoul, rising and actu- 
ally extending his arms as if to embrace the beloved craft. 
“Ktooelle, they seek us, for we are much behind our 
time ! ’ ’ 

The stranger drew near fast ; when his outlines became 
visible, there was no mistaking them. The two enormous 


394 




lugs, the little jigger, the hull almost awash, and the whole 
of the fairy form, came mistily into view, as the swift bird 
assumes color and proportion, while it advances out of the 
depths of the void. The vessel was but a hundred yards 
distant ; in another minute she would be past. 

“ Vive la R^publique ! said Raoul, distinctly, though 
he feared to trust his voice with a loud hail. 

Again the canvas flapped, and the trampling of feet was 
heard on the lugger’s deck ; then she came sweeping into 
the wind, within fifty feet of the yawl. Raoul watched the 
movement ; and by the time her way was nearly lost, he 
was alongside, and had caught a rope. At the next instant 
he was on board her. 

Raoul trod the deck of his lugger again, with the pride 
of a monarch as he ascends his throne. Certain of her sail- 
ing qualities, and confident of his own skill, this gallant sea- 
man was perfectly indifferent to the circumstance that he 
was environed by powerful enemies. The wind and the 
hour were propitious, and no sensation of alarm disturbed 
the exultation of that happy moment. The explanations 
that passed between him and his first lieutenant, Pintard, 
were brief but distinct. Te Feu-Follet had kept off the 
land, with her sails lowered, a trim in which a vessel of her 
rig and lowness in the water would not be visible more than 
five or six miles, until sufiicient time had elapsed, when she 
was taken into the Gulf of Salerno, to look for signals from 
the heights of St. Agata. Finding none, she went to sea 
again, as has been stated, sweeping along the coast, in the 
hope of falling in with intelligence. Although she could not 
be seen by her enemies, she saw the three cruisers who were 
on the lookout, and great uneasiness prevailed on board, 
concerning the fate of the absentees. On the afternoon of 
that day, the lugger was carried close in with the northwest 
side of Ischia, which island she rounded at dusk, seemingly 
intending to anchor at Raise, a harbor seldom without allied 
cruisers. As the wind came off the land, however, she kept 
away, and passing between Procida and Misenum, she came 
out into the Bay of Naples, about three hours before meet- 
ing with Raoul, with the intention of examining the whole 




395 


of the opposite coast, in search of the yawl. She had seen 
the light at the gaff of the Proserpine, and, at first, supposed 
it might be a signal from the missing boat. With a view to 
make sure of it, the lugger had been kept away until the 
night-glasses announced a ship ; when she was hauled up on 
a wind, and had made two or three successive half-boards, 
to weather the point where her captain lay concealed ; the 
Marina Grande of Sorrento being one of the places of 
rendezvous mentioned by our hero, in his last instructions. 

There was a scene of lively congratulation, and of even 
pleasing emotion, on the deck of the lugger, when Raoul so 
unexpectedly appeared. He had every quality to make 
himself beloved by his men. Brave, adventurous, active, 
generous, and kind-hearted, his character rendered him a 
favorite to a degree that was not common even among the 
people of that chivalrous nation. The French mariner will 
bear familiarity better than his great rival and neighbor, the 
Englishman ; and it was natural with our hero to be frank 
and free with all, whether above him or below him in con- 
dition. The temperaments to be brought into subjection 
were not as rude and intractable as those of the Anglo- 
Saxon ; and the off-hand, dashing character of Raoul was 
admirably adapted to win both the admiration and the affec- 
tions of his people. They now thronged about him, with- 
out hesitation or reserve, each man anxious to make his good 
wishes known, his felicitations heard. 

“ I have kept you playing about the fire, camarades,” 
said Raoul, affected by the proofs of attachment he received ; 
“but we will now take our revenge. There are English 
boats in chase of me, at this moment, under the land ; we 
will try to pick up one or two of them, by way of letting 
them know there is still such a vessel as Ee Feu-Follet.” 

An exclamation of pleasure followed ; then an old 
quartermaster, who had actually taught his commander his 
first lessons in seamanship, shoved through the crowd, and 
put his questions with a sort of authority. 

“Mon capitaine,” he said, “have you been near these 
English ? ’ ’ 

“Ay, Benoit ; somewhat nearer than I could wish. To 


39 ^ 


OTing*ant»*Mtna 


own the truth, the reason you have not sooner seen me, 
was, that I was passing time on board our old friend, I^a 
Proserpine. Her ofi&cers and crew would not lose my com- 
pany, when they had once begun to enjoy it.” 

“ Peste ! — mon cher capitaine — were you a prisoner ? ” 

“ Something of that sort, Benoit. At least, they had me 
on a grating, with a rope round the neck, and were about to 
make me swing off, as a spy, when a happy gun or two 
from Nelson, up above there, at the town, ordered them to 
let me go below. As I had no taste for such amusements, 
and wanted to see mon cher Feu-Follet, Ktooelle and I got 
into the yawl, and left them ; intending to return and be 
hanged when we can find nothing better to do.” 

This account required an explanation, which Raoul gave 
in a very few words, and then the crew were directed to go 
to their stations, in order that the lugger might be properly 
worked. The next minute the sails were filled on the lar- 
board tack as before, and L,e Feu-Follet again drew ahead, 
standing in for the cliffs. 

“There is a light in motion near Capri, mon capitaine,” 
observed the first lieutenant ; “I suppose it to be on board 
some enemy. They are plenty as gulls about this bay.” 

“You are very right, Monsieur. ’Tis Ta Proserpine; 
she shows the light for her boats. She is too far to leeward 
to meddle with us, however, and we are pretty certain there 
is nothing between her and the ships off the town that can 
do us any harm. Are all our lights concealed ? Tet them 
be well looked to. Monsieur.” 

“All safe, mon capitaine. Te Feu-Follet never shows 
her lantern until she wishes to lead an enemy into the 
mire ! ” 

Raoul laughed, and pronounced the word “Bon” in the 
emphatic manner peculiar to a Frenchman. Then, as the 
lugger was drawing swiftly in towards the rocks, he went 
on the forecastle himself, to keep a proper lookout ahead ; 
Ithuel, as usual, standing at his side. 

The piano or plain of Sorrento terminates, on the side of 
the bay, in perpendicular cliffs of tufa, that vary from one 
to near two hundred feet in height. Those near the town 




397 


are among the highest, and are lined with villas, convents, 
and other dwellings, of which the foundations are frequently 
placed upon shelves of rock fifty feet below the adjacent 
streets. Raoul had been often here during the short reign 
of the Rufo faction, and was familiar with most of the coast. 
He knew that his little lugger might brush against the very 
rocks, in most places, and was satisfied that if he fell in with 
the Proserpine’s boats at all, it must be quite near the land. 
As the night wind blew directly down the bay, sighing 
across the campagna, between Vesuvius and Castel-a-Mare, 
it became necessary to tack off-shore, as soon as I^e Peu- 
Follet got close to the cliffs, where the obscurity was great- 
est, and her proportions and rig were not discernible at any 
distance. While in the very act of going round, and before 
the head-sheets were drawn, Raoul was startled by a sudden 
hail. 

“ Felucca, ahoy ! ” cried one, in English, from a boat that 
was close on the lugger’s bow. 

“ Halloo ! ” answered Ithuel, raising an arm, for all near 
him to be quiet. 

“ What craft ’s that ? ” resumed he in the boat. 

“A felucca sent down by the admiral to look for the 
Proserpine ; not finding her at Capri, we are turning up to 
the anchorage of the fleet again.” 

“Hold on a moment, sir, if you please; I’ll come on 
board you. Perhaps I can help you out of your difficulty, 
for I happen to know something of that ship.” 

‘ ‘ Ay, ay ; bear a hand, if you please ; for we want to 
make the most of this wind while it stands.” 

It is singular how easily we are deceived, when the mind 
commences by taking a wrong direction. Such was now 
the fact with him in the boat, for he had imbibed the notion 
that he could trace the outlines of a felucca, of which so 
many navigate those waters, and the idea that it was the 
very lugger he had been seeking, never crossed his mind. 
Acting under the delusion, he was soon alongside, and on 
the deck of his enemy. 

‘ ‘ Do you know this gentleman, Btooelle ? ’ ’ demanded 
Raoul, who had gone to the gangway to receive his visitor. 


398 




“It is Mr. Clinch, the master’s-mate of the accursed 
Proserpine; he who spoke us in the yawl, off the point 
yonder.” 

“How!” exclaimed Clinch, his alarm being sufficiently 
apparent in his voice; “have I fallen into the hands of 
Frenchmen? ” 

“ You have, Monsieur,” answered Raoul, courteously, 
“but not into the hands of enemies. This is Te Feu- 
Follet, and I am Raoul Yvard.” 

“Then all hope for Jane is gone forever I I have passed 
a happy day, though a busy one, for I did begin to think 
there was some chance for me. A man cannot see Nelson 
without pulling up, and wishing to be something like him ; 
but a prison is no place for promotion.” 

‘ ‘ Tet us go into my cabin. Monsieur. There we can 
converse more at our ease ; and we shall have a light. ’ ’ 

Clinch was in despair ; it mattered not to him whither 
he was taken. In the cabin he sat, the picture of a helpless 
man, and a bottle of brandy happening to stand on the 
table, he eyed it with something like the ferocity with which 
the hungry wolf may be supposed to gaze at the lamb ere he 
leaps the fold. 

“Is this the gentleman you mean, Ktooelle?” demanded 
Raoul, when the cabin-lamp shone on the prisoner’s face ; 
“he who was so much rejoiced to hear that his enemy was 
not hanged?” 

“ ’Tis the same. Captain Rule ; in the main, he is a good- 
natured officer, one that does more harm to himself than to 
any one else. They said in the ship, that he went up to 
Naples to do you some good turn or other.” 

“Bon! You have been long in your boat, Mr. Clinch, 
we will give you a warm supper and a glass of wine ; after 
which, you are at liberty to seek your frigate, and to return 
to your own flag. ’ ’ 

Clinch stared as if he did not, or could not, believe what 
he heard ; then the truth flashed on his mind, and he burst 
into tears. Throughout that day his feelings had been in 
extremes, hope once more opening a long vista of happiness 
for the future, through the renewed confidence and advice 




399 


of his captain. Thus far he had done well, and it was by 
striving to do still better that he had fallen into the hands 
of the enemy. For a single moment the beautiful fabric 
which revived hopes had been industriously weaving through- 
out the day was torn into tatters. The kindness of Raoul’s 
manner, however, his words, and the explanations of Ithuel, 
removed a mountain from his breast, and he became quite 
unmanned. There are none so debased as not to retain 
glimmerings of the bright spirit that is associated with the 
grosser particles of their material nature. Clinch had in 
him the living consciousness that he was capable of better 
things, and he endured moments of deep anguish, as the 
image of the patient, self-devoting, and constant Jane rose 
before his mind’s eye to reproach him with his weaknesses. 

It is true that she never made these reproaches in terms ; 
so far from that, she would not even believe the slanders of 
those she mistook for his enemies ; but Clinch could not 
always quiet the spirit within him, and he often felt degraded 
as he remembered with how much more firmness Jane sup- 
ported the load of hope deferred, than he did himself. The 
recent interview with Cufie had aroused all that remained 
of ambition and self-respect, and he had left the ship that 
morning with a full and manly determination to reform, 
and to make one continued and persevering effort to obtain 
a commission, and with it Jane. Then followed capture 
and the moment of deep despair. But Raoul’s generosity 
removed the load, and again the prospect brightened. 




CHAPTER XXVI. 

“ O ! many a dream was in the ship 
An hour before her death ; 

And sight of home, with sighs disturbed 
The sleeper’s long drawn breath.” 

WlI^ON. 

R AOUI/ soon decided on his course. While he was 
consoling Clinch, orders had been sent to Pintard 
to look for the other gig ; but a few minutes’ 
search under the cliffs satisfied those on deck that 
she was not to be found ; and the fact was so reported below. 
Nor could all Ithuel’s ingenuity extract from the captured 
boat’s crew any available information on the subject. There 
was an esprit de corps among the Proserpine, as between 
their own ship and Te Feu-Follet, which would have with- 
stood, on an occasion like this, both threats and bribes ; and 
he of the Granite State was compelled to give the matter up 
as hopeless ; though, in so doing, he did not fail to ascribe 
the refusal to betray their shipmates, on the part of these 
men, to English obstinacy, rather than to any creditable 
feeling. The disposition to impute the worst to those he 
hated, however, was not peculiar to Ithuel or his country ; it 
being pretty certain he would have fared no better on board 
the English frigate, under circumstances at all analogous. 

Satisfied, at length, that the other boat had escaped him, 
and feeling the necessity of getting out of the bay while it 
was still dark, Raoul reluctantly gave the order to bear up, 
and put the lugger dead before the wind, wing-and-wing. 
By the time this was done, the light craft had turned so far 
to windward as to be under the noble rocks that separate 
the piano of Sorrento from the shores of Vico ; a bold 




401 


promontory, that buttresses the sea with a wall of near or 
quite a thousand feet in perpendicular height. Here she 
felt the full force of the land wind ; and when her helm was 
put up, and her sheets eased off, a bird turning on the wing 
would not have come round more gracefully, and scarcely 
with greater velocity. The course now lay from point to 
point, in order to avoid being becalmed within the indenta- 
tions of the coast. This carried the lugger athwart the cove 
of Sorrento, rather than into it, and, of course, left Yelverton, 
who had landed at the smaller Marina, quite out of the line 
of her course. 

So swift was the progress of the little craft, that within 
fifteen minutes after bearing up, Raoul and Ithuel, who 
again occupied their stations on the forecastle, saw the 
headland where they had so lately been concealed, and 
ordered the helm a-port, in order to sheer out and give it a 
berth. Then rock after rock was passed, cove after cove, 
and village after village, until the entrance between Capri 
and Campanella was again reached. In sweeping down the 
shore in this manner, the intention was to pick up any boat 
that might happen to be in the lugger’s track ; for, while 
Raoul was disposed to let his prisoner go, he had a strong 
desire to seize any other officers of the frigate that might 
fall in his way. The search was ineffectual, however ; and 
when the lugger came out into the open sea, all expectation 
of further success, of this nature, was reluctantly abandoned. 

As Te Feu-Follet was now in dangerous proximity to 
three cruisers of the enemy, the moment was one that called 
for decision. Fortunately, the positions of the English 
vessels were known to Raoul, a circumstance that lessened 
the danger, certainly ; but it would not do to continue long 
within a league of their anchorage, with the risk of the land 
breezes failing. As yet the darkness, and the shadows of 
the land, concealed the privateer, and her commander deter- 
mined, if not literally to make hay while the sun shone, at 
least to profit by its absence. With this view, then, he 
ordered the lugger hove-to, the boat of Clinch hauled to the 
lee gangway, and the prisoners to be all brought on deck, 
the common men in the waist, and the master’s-mate aft. 

26 


402 




‘ ‘ Here I must lose the pleasure of your company, Mon- 
sieur Clinch,” said Raoul, with a courtesy that may almost 
be termed national. “We are quite as near votre belle 
Proserpine as is safe, and I long for notre belle France. 
The wind is fair to take us off the coast, and two hours will 
carry us out of sight, even were it noonday. You will have 
the complaisance to make my duty to Monsieur Cuffe — oui, 
pardie ! and to ces braves Italiens, who are so much ze ami? 
of Sir Smees ! Touchez-la.-” 

Raoul laughed, for his heart was light, and sundry droll 
conceits danced through his brain. As for Clinch, the whole 
was Greek to him, with the exception that he understood it 
was the intention of the French to take their vessel off the 
coast, a circumstance that he was not sony^ to learn, though 
he would have given so much, a few hours earlier, to have 
known where to find her. Raoul’s generosity had worked a 
revolution in his feelings, however, and nothing was further 
from his wishes, now, than to be employed against the cele- 
brated privateersman. Still, he had a duty to perform to 
the service of which he was a member, another to Jane, and 
a last to himself. 

“Captain Yvard,” said the master’s-mate, taking the 
other’s offered hand, “ I shall never forget this kindness on 
your part ; it comes at a most fortunate moment for me. 
My happiness in this world, and perhaps in the world to 
come” — an ejaculation of “Bah!” involuntarily escaped 
the listener — “depended on my being at liberty. I hold it 
to be fair, however, to tell you the whole truth. I must do all I 
can to capture or destroy this very lugger, as well as any other 
of the king’s enemies, as soon as I am my own master again.” 

“ Bon ! I like your frankness. Monsieur Clinch, as much 
as I like your humanity. I always look for a brave enemy 
when un Anglais comes against me ; if you are ever in the 
number, I shall expect nothing worse. ’ ’ 

“ It will be my duty. Captain Yvard, to report to Captain 
Cuffe where I found the Folly, where I left her, and where 
I think she is steering 1 Even your armament, crew, and 
all such little particulars, I shall be questioned on ; I must 
answer honestly.” 


‘lKIltno==ant)s:MtnG 


403 


‘ ‘ Mon cher, you are ‘ honest fellow ’ as you Anglais say. 

I wish it was noonday, that you might better see our deck ; 
Le Feu-Follet is not ugly, that she should wish to wear a 
veil. Tell everything. Clinch, mon brave; if Monsieur 
Cuffe wish to send another party against our lugger, come 
in the first boat en personne. We shall always be happy to 
see Monsieur Clinch. As for where we steer, you see our 
head is towards la belle France ; and there is plenty of room 
for a long chase. Adieu, mon ami ; au revoir.” 

Clinch now shook hands heartily with all the officers ; 
again expressed his sense of the liberality with which he 
was treated, and this, too, with emotion ; then he followed 
his people into the boat, and pulled away from the lugger’s 
side, holding his course towards the light which was still 
burning on board the Proserpine. At the same time Le 
Feu-Follet filled, and soon disappeared from his eyes in the 
darkness, running off wing-and-wing, and steering west, 
as if really making the best of her way towards the Straits 
of Bonifacio, on her road to France. 

But, in fact, Raoul had no such intention. His cruise 
was not up, and his present position, surrounded as he was 
with enemies, was full of attraction to one of his tempera- 
ment. Only the day before he had appeared in the disguise 
of a lazzarone, he had captured, manned, and sent to Mar- 
seilles a valuable store-ship ; and he knew that another was 
hourly expected in the bay. This was an excuse to his peo- 
ple for remaining where they were. But the excitement 
of constantly running the gauntlet, the pleasure of demon- 
strating the superior sailing of his lugger, the opportunities 
for distinction, and every other professional motive, were 
trifling, as compared with the tie which bound him to, the 
feeling that unceasingly attracted him towards, Ghita. 
With his love, also, there began to mingle a sensation ap- 
proaching to despair. While Ghita was so gentle, and even 
tender, with him, he had ever found her consistent and 
singularly firm in her principles. In their recent dialogues, 
some that we have forborne to relate on account of their 
peculiar character, Ghita had expressed her reluctance to 
trust her fate with one whose God was not her God, with a 


404 




distinctness and force that left no doubt of the seriousness 
of her views, or of her ability to sustain them in acts. 
What rendered her resolution more impressive, was the 
ingenuous manner with which she never hesitated to admit 
Raoul’s power over her affections, leaving no pretext for the 
commonplace supposition that the girl was acting. The 
conversation of that night weighed heavily on the heart of 
the lover, and he could not summon sufficient resolution to 
part, perhaps for months, with such an apparent breach 
between him and his hopes. 

As soon as it was known, therefore, that the lugger was 
far enough at sea to be out of sight from the boat of Clinch, 
she came by the wind on the larboard tack again, heading 
up towards the celebrated ruins of Paestum, on the eastern 
shore of the Bay of Salerno. To one accustomed to the 
sea, there would not have seemed sufficient wind to urge 
even that light craft along, at the rate with which she 
glided through the water. But the land breeze was charged 
with the damps of midnight ; the canvas was thickened 
from the same cause ; and the propelling power had nearly 
double its apparent force. In an hour after hauling up, Te 
Feu-Follet tacked, quite eight miles distant from the spot 
where she altered her direction, and far enough to windward 
to lay her course in directly for the cliffs beneath the village 
of St. Agata, or the present residence of Ghita. In pro- 
ceeding thus, Raoul had a double intention before him. 
English ships were constantly passing between Sicily, 
Malta, and Naples; and as those bound north would natu- 
rally draw in with the land at this point, his position might 
enable him to strike a sudden blow, with the return of day, 
should any suitable vessel be in the offing next morning. 
Then he hoped for a signal from Ghita at least, and such 
things were very dear to his heart ; or, possibly, anxiety 
and affection might bring her down to the water-side, when 
another interview would be possible. This was the weak- 
ness of passion ; and Raoul submitted to its power, like 
feebler-minded and less resolute men, the hero becoming 
little better than the vulgar herd under its influence. 

The two or three last days and nights had been hours of 




405 


extreme anxiety and care to the officers and crew of the 
lugger, as well as to their commander, and all on board 
began to feel the necessity of sleep. As for Ithuel, he had 
been in his hammock an hour ; and Raoul now thought 
seriously of following his example. Giving his instructions 
to the young lieutenant who was in charge of the deck, our 
hero went below, and in a few minutes he was also lost to 
present hopes and fears. 

Everjdhing seemed propitious to the lugger and the in- 
tentions of her commander. The wind went down gradu- 
ally, until there was little more than air enough to keep 
steerage- way on the vessel, while the ripple on the water 
disappeared, leaving nothing behind it but the long, heavy 
ground-swell that always stirs the bosom of the ocean, like 
the heaving respiration of some gigantic animal. The morn- 
ing grew darker, but the surface of the gulf was glassy and 
tranquil, leaving no immediate motive for watchfulness or 
care. 

These are the lethargic moments of a seaman’s life. 
Days of toil bring nights of drowsiness ; and the repose of 
nature presents a constant temptation to imitate her ex- 
ample. The reaction of excitement destroys the disposition 
to indulge in the song, the jest, or the tale ; and the mind, 
like the body, is disposed to rest from its labors. Even the 
murmuring wash of the water, as it rises and falls against 
the vessel’s sides, sounds like a lullaby, and sleep seems to 
be the one great blessing of existence. Under such circum- 
stances, therefore, it is not surprising that the watch on the 
deck of the lugger indulged this necessary want. It is per- 
mitted to the common men to doze at such moments, while 
a few are on the alert ; but even duty, in the absence of 
necessity, feels its task to be irksome, and difficult of per- 
formance. Eookout after lookout lowered his head ; the 
young man who was seated on the arm-chest aft began to 
lose his consciousness of present things, in dreamy recollec- 
tions of Provence, his home, and the girl of his youthful 
admiration. The seaman at the helm alone kept his eyes 
open, and all his faculties on the alert. This is a station in 
which vigilance is ever required ; and it sometimes happens 


4o6 




in vessels where the rigid discipline of a regular service 
does not exist, that others rely so much on the circumstance, 
that they forget their own duties, in depending on the due 
discharge of his, by the man at the wheel. 

Such, to a certain degree, was now the fact on board Le 
Feu-Follet. One of the best seamen in the lugger was at 
the helm, and each individual felt satisfied that no shift 
of wind could occur, no change of sails become necessary, 
that Antoine would not be there to admonish them of the 
circumstance. One day was so much like another, too, in 
that tranquil season of the year, and in that luxurious sea, 
that all on board knew the regular mutations that the hour 
produced. The southerly air in the morning, the zephyr in 
the afternoon, and the land wind at night, were as much 
matters of course as the rising and setting of the sun. No 
one felt apprehension, while all submitted to the influence of 
a want of rest, and of the drowsiness of the climate. 

Not so with Antoine. His hairs were gray. Sleep was 
no longer so necessary to him. He had much pride of call- 
ing, too ; was long experienced, and possessed senses sharp- 
ened and rendered critical by practice and many dangers. 
Time and again did he turn his eyes towards Campanella, to 
ascertain if any signs of the enemy were in sight ; the 
obscurity prevented anything from being visible but the 
dark outline of the high and rock-bound coast. Then he 
glanced his eyes over the deck, and felt how completely 
everything depended on his own vigilance and faithfulness. 
The look at the sails and to windward brought no cause for 
uneasiness, however; and, presuming on his isolation, he 
began to sing, in suppressed tones, an air of the Trouba- 
dours ; one that he had learned in childhood, in his native 
langue du midi. Thus passed the minutes until Antoine 
saw the first glimmerings of morning, peeping out of the 
darkness, that came above the mountain-tops that lay in the 
vicinity of Kboli. Antoine felt solitary ; he was not sorry 
to greet these S5miptoms of a return to the animation and 
communion of a new day. 

“Hist! mon lieutenant!” whispered the old mariner, 
unwilling to expose the drowsiness of his young superior to 




407 


the gaze of the common men; “mon lieutenant— ’t is I, 
Antoine.” 

“Bh! Bah! O Antoine, est-ce-que toi? Bon! what 
would you have, mon ami ? ” 

“ I hear the surf, I think, mon lieutenant. Bisten ! is not 
that the water striking on the rocks of the shore? ” 

“Jamais ! You see the land is a mile from us ; this coast 
has no shoals. The captain told us to stand close in, before 
we hove to or called him. Pardie ! Antoine, how the little 
witch has travelled in my watch ! Here we are, within a 
musket’s range from the heights, yet there has been no 
wind.” 

“ Pardon, mon lieutenant — I do not like that sound of the 
surf ; it is too near for the shore. Will you have the kind- 
ness to step on the forecastle and look ahead. Monsieur? 
the light is beginning to be of use.” 

The young man yawned, stretched his arms, and walked 
forward ; the first to indulge himself, the first, also, to relieve 
the uneasiness of an old shipmate, whose experience he 
respected. Still his step was not as quick as common, and 
it was near a minute ere he reached the bows, or before he 
gained the knight-heads. But his form was no sooner visi- 
ble there, than he waved his arms frantically, and shouted in 
a voice that reached the recesses of the vessel, — 

‘ ‘ Hard up — hard up with the helm, Antoine ! ease off the 
sheets, mes enfans ! ’ ’ 

Be Feu-Follet rose on a heavy ground-swell at that mo- 
ment ; in the next she settled down with a shock resembling 
that which we experience when we leap and alight sooner 
than was expected. There she lay cradled in a bed of 
rocks, as immovable as one of the stones around her, — 
stones that had mocked the billows of the Mediterranean, 
within the known annals of man, more than three thousand 
years. In a word, the lugger had struck one of those 
celebrated islets under the heights of St. Agata, known as 
the Islands of the Sirens, and which are believed to have 
been commemorated by the oldest of all the living profane 
writers, Homer himself. The blow was hardly given, before 
Raoul appeared on deck. The vessel gave up all that had 


4o8 




life in her, and she was at once a scene of alarm, activity, 
and exertion. 

It is at such a moment as this, that the most useful quali- 
ties of a naval captain render themselves apparent. Of all 
around him, Raoul was the calmest, the most collected, and 
the best qualified to issue the orders that had become 
necessary. He made no exclamations — uttered not a word 
of reproach — cast not even a glance of disapprobation on 
any near him. The mischief was done; the one thing 
needful was to repair it, if possible, leaving to the future 
the cares of discipline, and the distribution of rewards 
and punishments. 

“She is as fast anchored as a cathedral, mon lieutenant,” 
he quietly observed to the very officer through whose re- 
missness the accident had occurred ; “I see no use in these 
sails. Take them in at once ; they may set her farther on 
the rocks, should she happen to lift.” 

The young man obeyed, every nerve in his body agitated 
by the sense of delinquency. Then he walked aft, cast one 
look around him at the desperate condition of the lugger, 
and, with the impetuosity of character that belongs to his 
country, he plunged into the sea, from which his body never 
reappeared. The melancholy suicide was immediately re- 
ported to Raoul. 

“Bon!” was the answer. “Had he done it an hour 
earlier, Te Feu-Rollet would not have been set up on these 
rocks, like a vessel in a shipyard ; mais, mes enfans, 
courage I We ’ll yet see if our beautiful lugger cannot 
be saved I ’ ’ 

If there were stoicism and bitterness in this answer, there 
was not deliberate cruelty. Raoul loved his lugger, next to 
Ghita, before all things on earth ; and, in his eyes, the fault 
of wrecking her in a calm was to be classed among the 
unpardonable sins. Still, it was by no means a rare occur- 
rence. Ships, like men, are often cast away by an excess of 
confidence ; and our own coast, one of the safest in the 
known world for the prudent mariner to approach, on 
account of the regularity of its soundings, has many a tale 
to tell of disasters similar to this, which have occurred 


Ming^anb*:MinG 


409 


simply because no signs of danger were apparent. Our 
hero would not have excused himself for such negligence, 
and that which self-love will not induce us to pardon, will 
hardly be conceded to philanthropy. 

The pumps were sounded, and it was ascertained that the 
lugger had come down so easily into her bed, and lay there 
with so little straining of her seams, that she continued 
tight as a bottle. This left all the hope which circum- 
stances would allow, of still saving the vessel. Raoul neg- 
lected no useful precaution. By this time the light was 
strong enough to enable him to see a felucca coming slowly 
down from Salerno, before the wind, or all that was still left 
of the night air, and he despatched Ithuel with an armed 
boat to seize her, and bring her alongside of the rocks. He 
took this course with the double purpose of using the prize, 
if practicable, in getting his own vessel off, or, in the last 
resort, of making his own escape, and that of his people, 
in her to France. He did not condescend to explain his 
motives, however ; nor did any one presume to inquire into 
them. Raoul was now strictly a commander, acting in a 
desperate emergency. He even succeeded in suppressing 
the constitutional volubility of his countrymen, and in sub- 
stituting for it the deep, attentive silence of thorough disci- 
pline ; one of the great causes of his own unusual success 
in maritime enterprises. To the want of this very silence 
and attention may be ascribed so many of those naval disas- 
ters which have undeniably befallen a people of singular 
enterprise and courage. Those who wish them well will be 
glad to learn that the evil has been, in a great measure, 
repaired. 

As soon as the boat was sent to seize the felucca, the yawl 
was put into the water, and Raoul himself began to sound 
around the lugger. The rocks of the Sirens, as the islets 
are called to this day, are sufficiently elevated above the 
surface of the sea to be visible at some distance ; though, 
lying in a line with the coast, it would not have been easy 
for the lookouts of Le Feu-Follet to discern them at the 
hour when she struck, even had they been on the alert. 
The increasing light, however, enabled the French fully to 


410 




ascertain their position, and to learn the extent of the evil. 
The lugger had been lifted into a crevice between two of the 
rocks, by a ground-swell heavier than common ; and though 
there was deep water all around her, it would be impossible 
to get her afloat again without lightening. So long as the 
wind did not blow, and the sea did not rise, she was safe 
enough ; but a swell that should force the hull to rise and 
fall, would inevitably cause her to bilge. These facts were 
learned in five minutes after the yawl was in the water, and 
much did Raoul rejoice at having so promptly sent Ithuel 
in quest of the felucca. The rocks were next reconnoitred, 
in order to ascertain what facilities they offered to favor the 
discharging of the vessel’s stores. Some of them were high 
enough to protect articles from the wash of the water, but it 
is at all times difiicult to lie alongside of rocks that are ex- 
posed to the open sea ; the heaving and setting of the ele- 
ment, even in calms, causing the elevation of its surface 
so much to vary. On the present occasion, however, the 
French found less swell than common, and that it was possi- 
ble to get their stores ashore at two or three different points. 

Raoul now directed the work to commence in earnest. 
The lugger carried four boats ; namely, a launch, a cutter, 
the yawl, and a jolly-boat. The second had been sent after 
the felucca, with a strong crew in her ; but the three others 
were employed in discharging stores. Raoul perceived at 
once that the moment was not one for half-way measures, 
and that large sacrifices must be made, to save the hull of 
the vessel. This, and the safety of his crew, were the two 
great objects he kept before him. All his measures were 
directed to that end. The water was started in the lug- 
ger’s hold by staving the casks, and the pumps were set 
in motion as soon as possible. Provisions of all sorts were 
cast into the sea, for Te Feu-Follet had recently supplied 
herself from a prize, and was a little deeper than her best 
trim allowed. In short, everything that could be spared 
was thrown overboard, barely a sufiiciency of food and 
water being retained to last the people until they could reach 
Corsica, whither it was their captain’s intention to proceed, 
the moment he got his vessel afloat. 




411 

The Mediterranean has no regular tides, though the water 
rises and falls materially, at irregular intervals ; either the 
effect of gales, or of the influence of the adjacent seas. 
This circumstance prevented the calamity of having gone 
ashore at high water, while it also prevented the mariners 
from profiting by any flood. It left them, as they had been 
placed by the accident itself, mainly dependent on their own 
exertions. 

Under such circumstances, then, our hero set about the 
discharge of his responsible duties. An hour of active toil, 
well directed and perseveringly continued, wrought a mate- 
rial change. The vessel was small, while the number of 
hands was relatively large. At the end of the time men- 
tioned, the ofiicer charged with the duty reported that the 
hull moved under the power of the heaving sea, and that it 
might soon be expected to strike with a force to endanger 
its planks and ribs. This was the sign to cease discharging, 
and to complete the preparations that had been making for 
heaving the lugger off, it being unsafe to delay that process 
after the weight was sufficiently lessened to allow it. The 
launch had carried out an anchor, and was already returning 
towards the rocks, paying out cable as it came in. But the 
depth of the water rendered this an anxious service, since 
there was the danger of dragging the ground-tackle home, 
as it is termed, on account of the angle on which it lay. 

At this moment, with the exception of the difficulty last 
named, everything seemed propitious. The wind had gone 
down entirely, the southerly air having lasted but a short 
time, and no other succeeding it. The sea was certainly not 
more disturbed than it had been all the morning, which was 
at its minimum of motion, while the day promised to be 
calm and clear. Nothing was in sight but the felucca, and 
she was not only in Ithuel’s possession, but she had drawn 
within half a mile of the rocks, and was sweeping still 
nearer at each instant. In ten minutes she must come 
alongside. Raoul had ascertained that there was water 
enough, where Ue Feu-Follet lay, to permit a vessel like his 
prize to touch her ; and many things lay on deck, in readi- 
ness to be transferred to this tender, previously to beginning 


412 




to heave. The rocks, too, were well garnished with casks, 
cordage, shot, ballast, and such other articles as could be 
come at, the armament and ammunition excepted. These 
last our hero always treated with religious care, for in all 
he did there was a latent determination resolutely to defend 
himself. But there were no signs of any such necessity’s 
being likely to occur, and the officers began to flatter them- 
selves with their ability to get their lugger afloat, and in 
sailing trim, before the usual afternoon breeze should set in. 
In waiting, therefore, for the arrival of the felucca, and in 
order that the work might meet with no interruption when 
the men once began to heave, the people were ordered to 
get their breakfasts. 

This pause in the proceedings gave Raoul an opportunity 
to look about him, and to reflect. Twenty times did he 
turn his eyes anxiously towards the heights of St. Agata, 
where there existed subjects equally of attraction and appre- 
hension. It is scarcely necessary to say that the first was 
Ghita ; while the last arose from the fear that some curious 
eye might recognize the lugger, and report her condition to 
the enemies known to be lying at Capri, only a league or two 
on the other side of the hills. But all was seemingly tran- 
quil there, at that early hour; and the lugger making very 
little show when her canvas was not spread, there was rea- 
son to hope that the accident was as yet unseen. The ap- 
proach of the felucca would probably betray it ; though the 
precaution had been taken to order Ithuel to show no signals 
of national character. 

Raoul Yvard was a very different man, at this moment 
of leisure and idleness, from what he had been a few hours 
earlier. Then he trod the deck of his little cruiser with some 
such feelings as the man who exults in his strength, and re- 
joices in his youth. Now he felt as all are apt to feel who 
are rebuked by misfortunes and disease. Nevertheless, his 
character had lost none of its high chivalry ; and even there, 
as he sat on the tafffail of the stranded Feu-Follet, he medi- 
tated carrying some stout Knglishman by surprise and board- 
ing, in the event of his not succeeding in getting off the 
lugger. The felucca would greatly aid such an enterprise ; 




413 


and his crew was strong enough, as well as sufficiently 
trained, to promise success. 

On such an expedient, even, was he ruminating, as Ithuel, 
in obedience to an order given through the trumpet, brought 
his prize alongside, and secured her to the lugger. The 
men who had accompanied the American were now dismissed 
to their morning’s meal, while Raoul invited their leader to 
share his frugal repast where he sat. As the two broke their 
fasts, questions were put and answered, concerning what had 
occurred during the hour or two the parties had been separ- 
ated. Raoul’s tale was soon told ; and then he learned with 
concern that the crew of the felucca had taken to their boat, 
and escaped to the landing of the Scaricatojo, on finding 
that the capture of their vessel was inevitable. This proved 
that the character of the wreck was known, and left but 
little hope that their situation would not be reported to the 
English, in the course of the morning. 




CHAPTER XXVII. 

“ But now lead on, 

In me is no delay ; with thee to go, 

Is to stay here : with thee here to stay. 

Is to go hence unwilling ; thou to me 
Art all things under heaven, all places thou. 

Mii^Ton. 

T he intelligence communicated by Ithuel essen- 
tially altered Raoul’s views of his actual situation. 
An active man might go from the Marinella, at 
the foot of the Scaricatojo, or the place where the 
crew of the felucca had landed, to the Marina Grande of 
Sorrento in an hour. At the latter beach, boats were always 
to be found, and two hours more would carry the messenger, 
by water, to the ships off Capri, even in a calm. The first 
of these important hours had now elapsed some time ; and 
he could not doubt that vigorous arms were already employed 
in pulling across the few leagues of water that separated the 
island from the shores of Sorrento. The day was calm, it is 
true ; and it would be impossible to move the ships ; but two 
frigates and a heavy sloop-of-war might send such a force 
against him in boats, as, in his present situation, would ren- 
der resistance next to hopeless. 

Raoul ceased eating, and standing on the taflfrail, he cast 
anxious looks around him. His sturdy followers, ignorant of 
all the dangers by which they were environed, were consum- 
ing their morning’s meal with the characteristic indifference 
to danger that marks the ordinary conduct of seamen. Even 
Ithuel, usually so sensitive on the subject of English power, 
and who had really so much to apprehend, should he again 
fall into the hands of the Proserpines, was masticating his 

414 


min0=anb=:M(na 


41S 


food with the keen relish of a man who had been hard at 
work the whole morning. All appeared unconscious of their 
critical condition ; and to Raoul it seemed as if the entire 
responsibility rested on his own shoulders. Fortunately, he 
was not a man to shrink from his present duties ; and he 
occupied the only leisure moment that would be likely to 
offer that day, in deliberating on his resources, and in 
maturing his plans. 

The armament still remained in the lugger, but it was 
doubtful if she would float without removing it ; and, admit- 
ting this necessity, the question arose of what was to be 
done with it, in order to render it available, in the event of 
an attack. Two, or even four of the light guns might be 
worked on the decks of the felucca ; and here he deter- 
mined they should be immediately placed, with a proper 
supply of cartridges and shot. Twenty men thrown into 
that light craft, which Ithuel reported as sailing and sweep- 
ing well, might prove of the last importance. Then one of 
the islets had a ruin on it, of what was believed to be an 
ancient temple. It is true, these ruins were insignificant, 
and scarcely visible at any distance ; but, on a close exam- 
ination, and by using some of the displaced stones with 
judgment, it was possible to entrench a party behind them, 
and make a stout resistance against light missiles, or such 
as boats would most probably use. Raoul got into the 
yawl, and sculled himself to this spot, examining the capa- 
bilities with care and judgment. After this, his mode of 
proceeding was matured to his own satisfaction. 

The usual time had been consumed, and the hands were 
“turned to” ; each ofiicer receiving the orders necessary to 
the discharge of the duty confided to his particular superin- 
tendence. As Ithuel had captured the felucca, Raoul felt 
it right to intrust him with the command of the prize. He 
was directed to take on board the armament and ammuni- 
tion necessary to a defence, to mount the guns in the best 
manner he could, and to make all the other fighting prepara- 
tions ; while another gang struck into the felucca’s hold 
such articles from the lugger as it was desirable to save. 

Another party, under the first lieutenant, landed the 


4i6 


Mina-anb*=‘limirta 


remainder of the light carronades, pieces of twelve pounds 
only, with the proper stores, and commenced the arrange- 
ments to place them in battery among the ruins. A small 
supply of food and water was also transferred to this islet. 

While these dispositions were in progress, Raoul himself, 
assisted by his sailing-master, prepared to heave the lugger 
off the rocks. To this, at present the most important duty, 
our hero gave his personal inspection ; for it required skill, 
judgment, and caution. The physical force of the crew was 
reserved to aid in the attempt. At length everything was 
ready, and the instant had arrived when the momentous 
trial was to be made. The lugger had now been ashore 
quite four hours, and the sun had been up fully three. By 
this time, Raoul calculated that the English, at Capri, knew 
of his misfortune, and little leisure remained in which to do 
a vast deal of work. The hands were all summoned to the 
bars, therefore, and the toil of heaving commenced. 

As soon as the cable got the strain, Raoul felt satisfied 
that the anchor would hold. Fortunately, a fluke had taken 
a rock, a ^circumstance that could be known only by the 
result ; but, so long as the iron held together, there was no 
danger of that material agent’s failing them. The last part 
of the process of lightening was now performed as rapidly 
as possible, and then came the trial heave at the bars. 
Every effort was fruitless, however, inch being gained after 
inch, until it seemed as if the hemp of the cable were ex- 
tending its minutest fibres, without the hull’s moving any 
more than the rocks on which it lay. Even the boys were 
called to the bars ; but the united force of all hands, the 
ofiicers included, produced no change. There was an instant 
when Raoul fancied his best course would be to set fire 
to the hulk, get on board the felucca, and sweep off to the 
southward, in season to avoid the expected visit from the 
English. He even called his ofiicers together, and laid the 
proposition before them. But the project was too feebly 
urged, and it met with too little response in the breasts of his 
auditors to be successful. The idea of abandoning that 
beautiful and faultless little craft was too painful, while the 
remotest hope of preserving it remained. 


Mina=*anb:-Mfn3 


417 


Raoul had measured his hours with the accuracy of a 
prudent general. It was now almost time for the English 
boats to appear, and he began to hope that the Neapolitans 
had made the great mistake of sending their information to 
the fleet off Naples, rather than carrying it to the ships at 
Capri. Should it prove so, he had still the day before him, 
and might retire under cover of the night. At all events, 
the lugger could not be abandoned without an enemy in 
sight, and the people were again called to the bars for a 
renewed effort. As water might be obtained at a hundred 
points on the coast, and the distance to Corsica was so 
small, the last gallon had been started and pumped out, dur- 
ing the recent pause. 

Our hero felt that this was the final effort. The hold of 
Te Feu-Follet was literally empty, and all her spare spars 
were floating among the rocks. If she could not be started 
now, he did not possess the means to get her off. The 
anchor held ; the cable, though stretched to the utmost, 
stood ; and every creature but himself was at the bars. The 
ground-swell had been lessening all the morning, and little aid 
was now to be had from the rising of the water. Still, that 
little must be obtained ; without it, the task seemed hopeless. 

“Get ready, men,” cried Raoul, as he paced the taffrail, 
“and heave at the word. We will wait for a swell, then 
strain every nerve till something part. Pas encore, mes 
enfans — pas encore ! Stand by ! Yonder comes a fellow 
who will lift us ; heave a strain — heave harder — heave, 
body and soul ! heave, all together I ” 

The men obeyed. First they hove a gentle strain ; then 
the effort was increased; and, obedient to the order, just 
as the ground-swell rolled under the lugger’s bottom, they 
threw out their utmost strength, and the hull started for the 
first time. This was encouraging, though the movement 
did not exceed six inches. It was a decided movement, 
and was made in the right direction. This success nerved 
the people to an increased effort. It was probable that, at 
the next strain, they would throw a tenth more impetus into 
their muscles. Of all this Raoul was aware, and he deter- 
mined not to let the feeling flag. 

27 


4i8 




“ Kncore, mes enfans ! ” he said. “Heave, and get 
ready ! Be watchful — now ’s your time ! Heave, and rip 
the planks off the lugger’s bottom ; heave, men, heave ! ” 

This time the effort answered to the emergency ; the 
swell rolled in, the men threw out their strength, a surge 
was felt, it was followed up by a strain, and He Feu-Follet 
shot off her bed into deep water, rolling, for want of ballast, 
nearly to her hammock-cloths. She soon lay directly over 
her anchor. 

Here was success ! triumphant success ; and that at a 
moment when the most sanguine had begun to despair. 
The men embraced each other, showing a hundred manifes- 
tations of extravagant joy. The tears came to Raoul’s eyes ; 
but he had no opportunity of concealing them, every officer 
he had pressing around him to exchange felicitations. The 
scene was one of happy disorder. It had lasted two or three 
minutes, when Ithuel, always cold and calculating, edged 
his way through the throng to his commander’s side, and 
pointed significantly in the direction of Campanella. There, 
indeed, was visible a division of the expected boats. It was 
pulling towards them, having that moment doubled the cape ! 

Ithuel’ s gesture was too significant to escape attention, 
and every eye followed its direction. The sight was ’of a 
nature not to be mistaken. It at once changed the current 
of feeling in all who beheld it. There was no longer a 
doubt concerning the manner in which the news of the acci- 
dent had travelled, or of its effect on the English at Capri. 
In point of fact, the padrone of the captured felucca, with a 
sole eye to the recovery of his vessel, had ascended the 
Scaricatojo, after landing at the Marinella, at its foot, as fast 
as his legs could carry him ; had rather run, than glided, 
along the narrow lanes of the piayio and the hill-side to the 
beach of Sorrento ; had thrown himself into a boat, manned 
by four lusty Sorrentine watermen — and Europe does not 
contain lustier or bolder ; had gone on board the Terp- 
sichore, and laid his case before Sir Frederick Dashwood, 
ignorant of the person of the real commanding officer among 
the three ships. The young baronet, though neither very 
wise nor very much experienced in his profession, was 




419 


exceedingly well disposed to seek distinction. It immedi- 
ately occurred to his mind, that the present was a fitting 
opportunity to gain laurels. He was second in rank pres- 
ent, and, in virtue of that claim, he fancied that the first 
could do no more than send him in command of the expedi- 
tion, which he rightly foresaw Cuffe would order against the 
French. But there arose a difficulty. As soon as Sir 
Frederick reported the nature of the intelligence he had 
received to his senior captain, and his own wish to be 
employed on the occasion, the rights of Winchester inter- 
posed to raise a question. Cuffe was prompt enough in 
issuing an order for each ship to man and arm two boats, 
making six in all, and in giving the necessary details, but he 
lost some precious time in deciding who was to command. 
This was the cause of delay, and had given rise to certain 
hopes in Raoul, that facts were subsequently to destroy. 
In the end. Sir Frederick prevailed, his rank giving him a 
decided advantage ; and the division of boats that was now 
approaching was under his orders. 

Raoul saw he had rather more than an hour to spare. 
To fight the felucca, unsupported, against so many enemies, 
and that in a calm, was quite out of the question. That 
small, low craft might destroy a few of her assailants, but 
she would inevitably be carried at the first onset. There 
was not time to get the ballast and other equipments into 
the lugger, so as to render her capable of a proper resist- 
ance ; nor did even she offer the same advantages for a 
defence, unless in quick motion, as the ruins. It was deter- 
mined, therefore, to make the best disposition of the two 
vessels that circumstances would allow, while the main de- 
pendence should be placed on the solid defences of stone. 
With this end, Ithuel was directed to haul his felucca to a 
proper berth; the first lieutenant was ordered to get as 
much on board Te Feu-Follet as possible, in readiness to 
profit by events ; while Raoul himself, selecting thirty of 
his best men, commenced preparing the guns on the rocks 
for active service. 

A single half-hour wrought a material change in the state 
of things. Ithuel had succeeded in hauling the felucca 


420 




into a berth among the islets, where she could not easily 
be approached by boats, and where her carronades might 
be rendered exceedingly useful. Much of the ballast was 
again on board the lugger, and a few of her stores, sufficient 
to render her tolerably stiff, in the event of a breeze spring- 
ing up ; and Raoul had directed the two inside guns of the 
felucca to be sent on board her and mounted, that she might 
assist in the defence with a flanking fire. The great diffi- 
culty which exists, in managing a force at anchor, is the 
opportunity that is given the assailant of choosing his point 
of attack, and, by bringing several of the vessels in a line, 
cause them to intercept each other’s fire. In order to pre- 
vent this as much as lay in his power, Raoul placed his two 
floating-batteries out of line, though it was impossible to 
make such a disposition of them as would not leave each 
exposed, on one point of attack, in a degree greater than 
any other. Nevertheless, the arrangement was so made, 
that every vessel or the ruins might aid each craft respec- 
tively against the assault on her weakest point. 

When his own guns were ready, and the two vessels 
moored, Raoul visited both the lugger and felucca, to in- 
spect their preparations, and to say a cheerful word to their 
men. He found most things to his mind ; where they were 
not, he ordered changes to be made. With the lieutenant, 
his conversation was brief, for that officer was one who 
possessed much experience in this very short warfare, and 
could be relied on. With Ithuel, he was more communica- 
tive; not that he distrusted the citizen of the Granite 
State, but that he knew him to be a man of unusual re- 
sources, could the proper spirit be aroused within him. 

“ Bien, Ktooell,” he said, when the inspection was ended, 
“much will depend on the use you make of these two 
guns.” 

“ I know that, as well as you do yourself. Captain Rule,” 
answered the other, biting off at least two inches from half 
a yard of pig-tail ; “and, what ’s more, I know that I fight 
with a rope round my neck. The spiteful devils will 
hardly overlook all that ’s passed ; and though it will be 
dead agin all law, they ’ll work out their eends on us both. 




421 


if we don’t work out our eends on them. To my mind, the 
last will be the most agreeable, as well as the most just.” 

” Bon ! Do not throw away your shot, Ktooell.” 

“I! — why. Captain Rule, I’m nat’ rally economical. 
That would be wasteful, and waste I set down for a sin. 
The only place I calculate on throwing the shot is into the 
faces and eyes of the Knglish. For my part, I wish Nelson 
himself was in one of them boats ; I wish the man no harm, 
but I do wish he was in one of them very boats.” 

“ And, Ktooell, I do not. It is bad enough as it is, 
entre nous ; and Nelson is very welcome to .stay on board 
his Foudroyant ; voila ! The enemy is in council ; we 
shall soon hear from them. Adieu, mon ami ; remember 
our two republiques ! ” 

Raoul squeezed Ithuel’s hand, and entered his boat. 
The distance to the ruin was trifling, but it was necessary 
to make a small circuit in order to reach it. While doing 
this, the young mariner discovered a boat pulling from the 
direction of the Marinella, at the foot of the Scaricatojo, 
which had got so near, unseen, as at first to startle him by 
its proximity. A second look, however, satisfied him that 
no cause of apprehension existed in that quarter. His eye 
could not be deceived. The boat contained Ghita and her 
uncle; the latter rowing, and the former seated in the 
stern, with her head bowed to her knees, apparently in 
tears. Raoul was alone, sculling the light yawl with a single 
hand, and he exerted himself to meet these unexpected, and, 
under the circumstances, unwelcome visitors, as far as possi- 
ble from the rocks. Presently the two boats lay side by side. 

” What means this, Ghita ! ” the young man exclaimed ; 
‘ ‘ do you not see the English, yonder, at this moment mak- 
ing their preparations to attack us ? In a few minutes we 
shall be in the midst of a battle, and thou here ! ’ ’ 

“ I see it all, now, Raoul,” was the answer, “ though we 
did not on quitting the shore ; but we would not turn 
back, having once come upon the bay. I was the first in 
St. Agata to discover the evil that had befallen thee ; from 
that moment I have never ceased to entreat my uncle, until 
he has consented to come hither.” 




422 


‘ ‘ With what motive, Ghita ? ’ ’ asked Raoul, with spark- 
ling eyes. “At length thou relentest — ^wilt become my 
wife ! In my adversity, thou rememberest thou art a 
woman ! ’ ’ 

“Not exactly that, dear Raoul; but I cannot desert 
thee, altogether, in this strait. The same objection exists 
now, I fear, that has ever existed to our union ; but that is 
no reason I should not aid thee. We have many friends 
along the heights, here, who will consent to conceal thee ; 
and I have come to carry thee and the American to the 
shore, until an opportunity offer to get thee to thine own 
France.” 

“ What ! desert ces braves, Ghita, at a moment like this 1 
Not to possess thy hand, dearest girl, could I be guilty of 
an act so base. ’ ’ 

“Thy situation is not theirs. The condemnation to 
death hangs over thee, Raoul ; shouldst thou again fall into 
English hands, there will be no mercy for thee.” 

“ Assez ; this is no moment for argument. The Eng- 
lish are in motion, and there is barely time for thee to get 
to a safe distance ere they begin to fire. Heaven bless 
thee, Ghita ! This care of thine draws my heart to thee 
closer than ever ; but we must now separate. Signor 
Giuntotardi, pull more towards Amalfi. I see that the 
English mean to attack us from the side of the land ; pull 
more towards Amalfi.” 

“ Thou tellest us this in vain, Raoul,” Ghita quietly, but 
firmly answered. “We have not come here on an un- 
meaning errand; if thou refusest to go with us, we will 
remain with thee. These prayers, that thou so despisest, 
may not prove useless.” 

“Ghita! this can never be. We are without cover, 
almost without defences ; our vessel is unfit to receive thee, 
and this affair will be very different from that off Elba. 
Thou wouldst not willingly distract my mind with care for 
thee, at such a moment I ” 

“We will remain, Raoul. There may come a moment 
when thou wilt be glad to have the prayers of believers. 
God leadeth us hither, either to take thee away, or to 




423 


remain, and look to thy eternal welfare, amid the din of 
war.” 

Raoul gazed at the beautiful enthusiast with an intensity 
of love and admiration, that even her truthful simplicity had 
never before excited. Her mild eyes were kindling with 
holy ardor, her cheeks were flushed, and something like the 
radiance of heaven seemed to beam upon her countenance. 
The young man felt that time pressed ; he saw no hope of 
overcoming her resolution, in season to escape the approach- 
ing boats ; and it might be, that the two would be safer in 
some nook of the ruins, than in attempting to return to the 
shore. Then, that never-dying but latent wish to have 
Ghita with him, aided his hasty reasoning, and he decided to 
permit the girl and her uncle to come upon the islet, that he 
was to defend in person. 

Some signs of impatience had begun to manifest them- 
selves among his people, ere Raoul made up his mind to the 
course he would follow. But, when he landed, supporting 
Ghita, that chivalry of character, and homage to the sex, 
which distinguish the southern Frenchman, changed the cur- 
rent of feeling, and their two acquaintances were received 
with acclamation. The act of self-devotion seemed heroic, 
and that is always enough to draw applause among a peo- 
ple so keenly alive to glory. Still, the time to make the 
necessary dispositions was short. Fortunately, the surgeon 
had taken his post on this islet, as the probable scene of the 
warmest conflict ; and he had contrived to make his prepa- 
rations to receive the hurt, in a cavity of the rock behind a 
portion of the ruin, where the person would be reasonably 
safe. Raoul saw the advantages of this position, and he led 
Ghita and her uncle to it, without pausing to deliberate. 
Here he tenderly embraced the girl, a liberty Ghita could 
not repel at such a moment ; then he tore himself away to 
attend to duties which had now become urgently pressing. ^ 

In point of fact. Sir Frederick Dashwood had made his 
dispositions, and was advancing to the assault, being already 
within the range of grape. For the obvious reason of pre- 
venting the French from attempting to escape to the shore, 
he chose to approach from that side himself— an arrange- 


424 




meiit that best suited Raoul ; who, foreseeing the probabil- 
ity of the course, had made his own preparations with an 
eye to such an event. 

Of boats, there were eight in sight, though only seven 
were drawing near, and were in line. Six had strong 
crews, were armed, and were evidently fitted for action. Of 
these, three had light boat-guns in their bows, while the 
other three carried small-arms men only. The seventh boat 
was the Terpsichore’s gig, with its usual crew, armed ; 
though it was used by the commanding oflScer himself as a 
sort of cheval de bataille^ in the stricter meaning of the term. 
In other words. Sir Frederick Dashwood pulled through the 
line in it, to give his orders and encourage his people. The 
eighth boat, which kept aloof, quite out of the range of 
grape, was a shore craft, belonging to Capri, in which 
Andrea Barrofaldi and Vito Viti had come, expressly to 
witness the capture or destruction of their old enemy. 
When Raoul was taken in the Bay of Naples, these two 
worthies fancied that their mission was ended — that they 
might return with credit to Porto Ferrajo, and again hold 
up their heads, with dignity and self-complacency, among 
the functionaries of the island. But the recent escape, and 
the manner in which they had been connected with it, en- 
tirely altered the state of things. A new load of responsi- 
bility rested on their shoulders ; fresh opprobrium was to 
be met and put down ; and the last acquisition of ridicule 
promised to throw the first proofs of their simplicity and 
dulness entirely into the shade. Had not Griffin and his 
associates been implicated in the affair, it is probable the 
vice-governatore and the podest^ would have been still more 
obnoxious to censure ; but as things were, the sly looks, 
open jests, and oblique innuendoes of all they met in the 
ship, had determined the honest magistrates to retire to their 
proper pursuits on terrd. Jirni^, at the earliest occasion. In 
the meantime, to escape persecution, and to obtain a modi- 
cum of the glory that was now to be earned, they had hired 
a boat, and accompanied the expedition, in the character of 
amateurs. It formed no part of their plan, however, to 
share in the combat ; a view of its incidents being quite as 




425 


much, as Vito Viti strongly maintained when his friend made 
a suggestion to the contrary, as was necessary to vindicate 
their conduct and courage in the judgment of every Klban. 

“ Cospetto ! ” he exclaimed, in the warmth of opposition, 
“Signor Andrea, your propositions are more in the spirit of 
an unreflecting boy, than in that of a discreet vice-governa- 
tore. If we take swords and muskets into the boat, as you 
appear to wish, the devil may tempt us to use them ; and 
what does either of us know of such things ? The pen is a 
more befitting weapon for a magistrate than a keen- edged 
sword or a foul-smelling piece of fire-arms. I am amazed 
that your native sensibihties do not teach you this. There 
is an indecency in men’s mistaking their duties ; and of all 
things on earth, heaven protect me from falling into such 
an error ! A false position is despicable.” 

“ Thou art warm, friend Vito, and that without occasion. 
For my part, I think men should be prepared for any emer- 
gency that may happen. History is full of examples in 
which civilians and scholars — ay, even churchmen — have 
distinguished themselves by feats of arms, on proper occa- 
sions ; and I confess to a philosophical curiosity to ascertain 
the sensations with which men seek and expose life.” 

“That’s your besetting weakness. Signor Andrea, and 
the emergency drives me so far to lose sight of the respect 
that a podesta owes to a vice-governatore, as to feel con- 
strained to tell you as much. Philosophy plays the very 
devil with your judgment. With about half of what you 
possess, the Grand Duke couldn’t boast of a more sensible 
subject. As for history, I don’t believe anything that’s in 
it ; more especially since the nations of the north have be- 
gun to write it. Italy once had histories, but where are 
they now ? For my part, I never heard of a man’s fighting 
who was not regularly bred to arms, unless it might be some 
fellow who had reason to wish he had never been born.” 

“I can name you several men of letters, in particular, 
whose fame as soldiers is only eclipsed by that earned by 
their more peaceful labors, honest Vito ; Michael Angelo 
Buonarotti, for instance, to say nothing of various warlike 
popes, cardinals, and bishops. But we can discuss this mat- 


426 


xmilnassant)s=TPQlino 


ter after the battle is over. Thou seest the English are al- 
ready quitting their ships, and we shall be in the rear of 
the combatants. ’ ’ 

“So much the better ; Corpo di Bacco ! who ever heard 
of an army that carries its brains in its head, like a human 
being? No, no. Signor Andrea; I have provided myself 
with a string of beads, which I intend to count over, with 
aves and paters, while the firing lasts, like a good Catholic. 
If you are so hot, and bent on making one in this battle, 
you may proclaim in a loud voice one of the speeches of the 
ancient consuls and generals, such as you will find them in 
any of the old books.” 

Vito Viti prevailed. The vice-governatore was obliged to 
leave the arms behind him, and this, too, without making 
any great difference in the result of the day’s fighting, in- 
asmuch as the boatmen employed, in addition to asking a 
triple price for their time and labor, obstinately refused to 
go nearer to the French than half a league. Distant as this 
was, however, Raoul while reconnoitring the enemy with 
a glass, detected the presence of the two Blbans. He 
laughed outright at the discovery, notwithstanding the many 
serious reflections that naturally pressed upon his mind at 
such a moment. 

But this was not the time to indulge in merriment, and 
the countenance of our hero almost immediately resumed its 
look of care. Now that he felt certain of the manner in 
which the English intended to assail him, he had new orders 
to give to all his subordinates. As has been said, the prin- 
cipal point was to make the different guns support each 
other. In order to do this effectually, it became necessary 
to spring the lugger’s broadside round more obliquely 
towards the felucca ; which accomplished, Raoul deemed 
his arrangements complete. 

Then followed the pause which ordinarily prevails be- 
tween preparation and the battle. This, in a vessel, is 
always a period of profound and solemn stillness. So 
important to concert, order, and intelligent obedience, in the 
narrow compass, and amid the active evolutions of a ship, 
does silence become at such moments, that one of the first 


WIltna=*anb^TKIlina 


427 


duties of discipline is to inculcate its absolute necessity ; and 
a thousand men shall be seen standing in their batteries, 
ready to serve the fierce engines of war, without a sound 
arising among them all, of sufficient force to still the wash- 
ing of the gentlest waves. It is true, the French were not 
now strictly arrayed for a naval action ; but they carried 
into the present conflict the habits and discipline of the 
peculiar branch of service to which they belonged. 




CHAPTER XXVIII. 

** His back against a rock he bore, 

And firmly placed his foot before : 

‘ Come one, come all ! this rock shall fly 
From its firm base as soon as I ! ’ ” 

Lady of the Lake. 

O UR battle will be told with greater clearness, if the 
reader is furnished with an outline of its order. 
As has been more than once intimated already, 
Sir Frederick Dashwood had made all his prepar- 
ations to commence the assault from the side of the land, 
the object being to prevent a retreat to the shore. Raoul 
had foreseen the probability of this, and, with a special view 
to prevent the two vessels from being easily boarded, he had 
caused both to be placed in such positions as left low 
barriers of rocks between them and that quarter of the bay. 
These rocks were portions that were not visible at any 
distance, being just awash, as it is termed, or on a level with 
the surface of the water ; offering the same sort of protec- 
tion against an attack in boats that ditches afford in cases 
of assaults on terrd jirmd. This was a material advantage 
to the expected defence, and our hero showed his discrimi- 
nation in adopting it. On board the felucca, which was 
named the Holy Michael, was Ithuel with fifteen men, and 
two twelve-pound carronades, with a proper supply of small- 
arms and ammunition. The Granite man was the only offi- 
cer, though he had with him three or four of the lugger’s 
best men. 

Te Feu-Follet was confided to the care of Jules Pintard, 
her first lieutenant, who had under his immediate orders 
some five-and-twenty of the crew, to work four more of the 

428 




429 

carronades. The lugger had a part only of her ballast in, 
and something like a third of her stores. The remainder of 
both still lay on the adjacent rocks, in waiting for the result 
of the day. She was thought, however, to be sufficiently 
steady for any service that might be expected of her while 
moored, and might even have carried whole sail, in light 
winds, with perfect safety. All four of her guns were 
brought over on one side in readiness to use in battery in 
the same direction. By this arrangement the French essen- 
tially increased their means of defence, bringing all their 
artillery into use at the same time ; an expedient that could 
not have been adopted had they been fought in broadside. 

Raoul had planted among the ruins the remaining four 
guns. With the aid of a few planks, the breechings, 
tackles, and other appliances of a vessel, this had been 
easily effected; and, on reviewing his work, he had great 
confidence in the permanency of his pieces. The ruins 
themselves were no great matter; at a little distance they 
were scarcely perceptible ; though, aided by the formation 
of the natural rock, and by removing some of the stones to 
more favorable positions, they answered the purpose of the 
seamen sufficiently well. The carronades were placed en 
barbette ; but a falling of the surface of the rock enabled 
the men to cover even their heads, by stepping back a few 
feet. The danger would be much the greatest to those 
whose duty it would be to reload. 

The surgeon. Carlo Giuntotardi, and Ghita, were estab- 
lished in a cavity of the rocks, perfectly protected against 
missiles, so long as the enemy continued on the side next 
the land, and yet within fifty feet of the battery. Here the 
former made the usual bloody-looking if not bloody-minded 
preparations for applying tourniquets and for amputating, 
all unheeded, however, by his two companions, both of 
whom were lost to the scene around them in devout prayer. 

Just as these several dispositions were completed, Ithuel, 
who ever kept an eye to windward, called out to Raoul, and 
inquired if it might not be well to run the yards up to the 
mast-heads, as they would be more out of the way in their 
places aloft than littering the decks. There was no possible 


430 




objection to the measure, it being a dead calm, and both the 
lugger and the felucca swayed their yards into their places, 
the sails being bent, and hanging in the brails. This is the 
ordinary state of craft of the latter rig, though not always 
that of luggers ; and the Granite man, mindful that his own 
gear was down, in consequence of having been lowered by 
her former owners previously to the capture, bethought him 
of the expediency of getting everything ready for a run. 
He wished the lugger to be in an equal state of preparation, 
it being plain enough that two to be pursued would em- 
barrass the Knglish, in a chase, twice as much as one. This 
was the reason of his suggestion ; and he felt happier for 
seeing it attended to. 

On the other side, all preliminary difficulties had been 
disposed of. Captain Sir Frederick Dashwood was in 
command, and lieutenants Winchester and Griffin, after 
a few open protestations, certain grimaces, and divers 
secret curses, were fain to submit. The discussion, how- 
ever, had produced one result, not altogether unfavorable to 
the Proserpines. Cuffe sent four of her boats against the 
enemy, while he restricted the Terpsichore to two, includ- 
ing her gig, and the Ringdove to two. Each ship sent her 
launch, as a matter of course, with a twelve-pound boat-gun 
on its grating. Winchester was in that of the Proserpine ; 
Mr. Stothard, the second of the other frigate, was in the 
Terpsichore’s ; and McBean, as of right, commanded the 
Ringdove’s. Griffin was in the first cutter of his own ship, 
and Clinch had charge of the second. The third was headed 
by Strand, whose call was to have precedence on the occa- 
sion. The other boats had subordinates from their respective 
ships. All were in good heart ; and while all expected a 
severe struggle for her, knowing the desperate character of 
their enemy, every man in the boats felt confident that the 
lugger was finally to fall into British hands. Still, a grave 
consideration of the possible consequences to the actors, 
mingled with the exultation of the more reflecting men 
among the assailants. 

Sir Frederick Dashwood, who ought to have felt the 
moral responsibility of his command, of all the higher 




431 


officers present, was the most indifferent to consequences. 
Constitutionally brave, personal considerations had little in- 
fluence on him ; habitually confident of English prowess, 
he expected victory and credit as a matter of course ; and, 
favored by birth, fortune, and parliamentary interest, he 
gave himself no trouble as to the possibility of a failure, 
certain (though not avowing that certainty even to himself) 
that any little mishap would be covered by the broad mantle 
of the accident that had so early raised him to the rank 
he held. 

In making his dispositions for the fight, however. Sir Fred- 
erick had not disdained the counsels of men older and more 
experienced than himself. Cuffe had given him much good 
advice, before they parted, and Winchester and Strand had 
been particularly recommended to him as seamen whose sug- 
gestions might turn out to be useful. 

“I send a master’s-mate named Clinch, in charge of one 
of our boats, too. Dash wood,” added the senior captain, as 
he concluded his remarks ; ‘ ‘ who is one of the most exper- 
ienced seamen in the Proserpine. He has seen much boat- 
service, and has always behaved himself well. A vile prac- 
tice of drinking has kept the poor fellow under ; but he is 
now determined to make an effort, and I beg you will put 
him forward to-day, that he may have a chance. Jack 
Clinch has the right sort of stuff in him, if opportunities offer 
to bring it out.” 

‘ ‘ I flatter myself, Cuffe, that all hands will meet with op- 
portunity enough,” answered Sir Frederick, in his drawling 
way ; “ for I intend to put ’em all in together, like a thor- 
ough pack coming in at the death. I ’ve seen Ford Echo’s 
harriers so close, at the end of a long chase, that you might 
have covered the whole with this ship’s main-course ; and I 
intend it shall be so with our boats to-day. By the way, 
Cuffe, that would be a pretty figure for a despatch, and would 
make Bronte smile — ha ! wouldn’t it? ” 

“D n the figure, the harriers, and the despatch, too, 

Dashwood ; first win the day, before you begin to write po- 
etry about it. Bronte, as you call Nelson, has lightning in 
him, as well as thunder, and there is n’t an admiral in 


432 




the service, who cares less for blood and private rank than 
himself. The way to make him smile, is to do a thing 
neatly and well. For God’s sake, now, be careful of the 
men ; we are short-handed as it is, and can’t afford such 
another scrape as that off Porto Ferrajo.” 

“Never fear for us, Cuffe ; you ’ll never miss the men I 
shall expend. ’ ’ 

Every captain had a word to say to his officers, but none 
other worth recording, with the exception of what passed 
between Eyon and his first lieutenant. 

“Ye’ll remember, Airchy, that a ship can have a reputa- 
tion for economy, as well as a man. There ’s several of our 
own countrymen about the admiralty just now ; and next to 
courage and enterprise, they view the expenditures with the 
keenest eyes. I ’ve known an admiral reach a red ribbon 
just on that one quality ; his accounts showing cheaper ships 
and cheaper squadrons than any in the sairvice. Ye ’ll all 
do your duties for the honor o’ Scotland ; but there ’s six or 
seven Eeith and Glasgow lads in the boats, that it may be as 
well not to let murder themselves, out of a’ need. I ’ve put 
the whole of the last draft from the river guard-ship into the 
boats, and with them there ’s no great occasion to be tender. 
They ’re the sweepings of the Thames and Wapping; and 
quite half of them would have been at Botany Bay before this, 
had they not been sent here. ’ ’ 

“ Does the law about being in sight apply to the boats or 
to the ships, the day. Captain Eyon ? ’ ’ 

“ To the boats, man ; or who the de’il do you think would 
sairve in them ! It ’s a pitiful affair, altogether, as it has 
turned out ; the honor being little more than the profit, I 
opine ; and yet ’twill never do to let old Scotia lag astairn, 
in a hand-to-hand battle. Ye ’ll remember, we have a name 
for coming to the claymore ; and so do yer best, every 
mither’s son o’ ye.” 

McBean grunted assent, and went about his work as 
methodically as if it were a sum in algebra. The second 
lieutenant of the Terpsichore was a young Irishman, with a 
sweet, musical voice ; and, as the boats left the ships, he was 
with difficulty kept in the line, straining to move ahead, with 




399 


of his captain. Thus far he had done well, and it was by 
striving to do still better that he had fallen into the hands 
of the enemy. For a single moment the beautiful fabric 
which revived hopes had been industriously weaving through- 
out the day was torn into tatters. The kindness of Raoul’s 
manner, however, his words, and the explanations of Ithuel, 
removed a mountain from his breast, and he became quite 
unmanned. There are none so debased as not to retain 
glimmerings of the bright spirit that is associated with the 
grosser particles of their material nature. Clinch had in 
him the living consciousness that he was capable of better 
things, and he endured moments of deep anguish, as the 
image of the patient, self-devoting, and constant Jane rose 
before his mind’s eye to reproach him with his weaknesses. 

It is true that she never made these reproaches in terms ; 
so far from that, she would not even believe the slanders of 
those she mistook for his enemies ; but Clinch could not 
always quiet the spirit within him, and he often felt degraded 
as he remembered with how much more firmness Jane sup- 
ported the load of hope deferred, than he did himself. The 
recent interview with Cufie had aroused all that remained 
of ambition and self-respect, and he had left the ship that 
morning with a full and manly determination to reform, 
and to make one continued and persevering efibrt to obtain 
a commission, and with it Jane. Then followed capture 
and the moment of deep despair. But Raoul’s generosity 
removed the load, and again the prospect brightened. 



434 




ever, to artillerists as little skilled as seamen generally are, 
who depend more on general calculations than on the direct 
or scientific aim, the latter being usually defeated by the 
motion of their vessels, that he was unwilling to throw away 
even his canister. A Frenchman himself, however, he could 
refrain no longer, and he pointed a carronade, firing it with 
his own hand. This was the commencement of the strife. 
All the other guns in the ruin followed, and the lugger kept 
time as it might be by note. The English rose, gave three 
cheers, and each launch discharged her gun. At the same 
instant, the two men who held the matches in the felucca, 
applied them briskly to the vents of their respective pieces. 
To their surprise, neither exploded, and, on examination, it 
was discovered that the priming had vanished. To own the 
truth, he of the Granite State had slyly brushed his hand 
over the guns, and robbed them of this great essential of their 
force. He held the priming-horns in his own hands, and 
resolutely refused to allow them to pass into those of any 
other person. 

It was fortunate Ithuel was known to be such a deter- 
mined hater of the English, else might his life have been 
the forfeit of this seeming act of treachery. But he medi- 
tated no such dereliction of duty. Perfectly aware of the 
impossibility of preventing his men from firing, did they 
possess the means, this deliberate and calculating personage 
had resorted to this expedient to reserve his own effort, 
until, in his judgment, it might prove the most available. 
His men murmured, but, too much excited to deliberate, 
they poured in a discharge of musketry, as the only means 
of annoying the enemy then left them. Even Raoul glanced 
aside, a little wondering at not hearing the felucca’s carron- 
ades, but perceiving her people busy with their fire-arms, he 
believed all right. 

The first discharge, in such an affair, is usually the most 
destructive. On the present occasion, the firing was not 
without serious effects. The English, much the most ex- 
posed, suffered in proportion. Four men were hurt in 
Winchester’s boat, two in Griffin’s, six or eight men in the 
other launches and cutters, and one of Sir Frederick’s gig- 




435 


men was shot through the heart — a circumstance which 
induced that officer to drop alongside of a cutter, and ex- 
change the dead body for a living man. 

On the rocks, but one man was injured. A round-shot 
had hit a stone, shivered it in fragments, and struck down a 
valuable seaman, just as he was advancing, with a gallant 
mien, to sponge one of the guns. 

“ Poor Josef! ” said Raoul, as he witnessed the man’s fall ; 
‘ ‘ carry him to the surgeon, mes braves. ’ ’ 

“ Mon capitaine, Josef is dead.” 

This decided the matter, and the body was laid aside, 
while another stepped forward and sponged the gun. At 
that moment Raoul found leisure to walk a yard or two 
towards the rear, in order to ascertain if the cover of Ghita 
were sufficient. The girl was on her knees, lost to all 
around her ; though, could he have read her heart, he would 
have found it divided between entreaties to the Deity and 
love for himself. 

The lugger sustained no harm. O’Teary had overshot 
her, in his desire to make his missiles reach. Not even a 
canister had lodged in her spars, or tom her sails. The 
usual luck appeared to attend her, and the people on board 
fought with renewed confidence and zeal. Not so with the 
felucca, however. Here the fire of the English had been 
the most destructive. The wary and calculating McBean 
had given his attention to this portion of the French de- 
fences, and the consequences partook of the sagacity and 
discretion of the man. A charge of canister had swept 
across the felucca’s decks, more than decimating Ithuel’s 
small force ; for it actually killed one, and wounded three 
of his party. 

But, the din once commenced, there was no leisure to 
pause. The fire was kept up with animation on both sides, 
and men fell rapidly. The boats cheered and pressed ahead, 
the water becoming covered with a wide sheet of smoke. 

In moments like this, the safest course for the assailants 
is to push on. This the English did, firing and cheering at 
every fathom they advanced, but suffering also. The con- 
stant discharge of the carronades, and the total absence of 


398 




“It is Mr. Clinch, the master’s-mate ^ of the accursed 
Proserpine ; he who spoke us in the yawl, off the point 
yonder.’’ 

“How !” exclaimed Clinch, his alarm being sufficiently 
apparent in his voice; “have I fallen into the hands of 
Frenchmen?” 

“You have, Monsieur,” answered Raoul, courteously, 
“but not into the hands of enemies. This is Re Feu- 
Follet, and I am Raoul Yvard.” 

“ Then all hope for Jane is gone forever ! I have passed 
a happy day, though a busy one, for I did begin to think 
there was some chance for me. A man cannot see Nelson 
without pulling up, and wishing to be something like him ; 
but a prison is no place for promotion.” 

‘ ‘ Ret us go into my cabin. Monsieur. There we can 
converse more at our ease ; and we shall have a light. ’ ’ 

Clinch was in despair ; it mattered not to him whither 
he was taken. In the cabin he sat, the picture of a helpless 
man, and a bottle of brandy happening to stand on the 
table, he eyed it with something like the ferocity with which 
the hungry wolf may be supposed to gaze at the lamb ere he 
leaps the fold. 

‘ ‘ Is this the gentleman you mean, Ftooelle ? ’ ’ demanded 
Raoul, when the cabin-lamp shone on the prisoner’s face ; 
“he who was so much rejoiced to hear that his enemy was 
not hanged ? ’ ’ 

“ ’Tis the same. Captain Rule ; in the main, he is a good- 
natured officer, one that does more harm to himself than to 
any one else. They said in the ship, that he went up to 
Naples to do you some good turn or other. ’ ’ 

“Bon! You have been long in yoiu* boat, Mr. Clinch, 
we will give you a warm supper and a glass of wine ; after 
which, you are at liberty to seek your frigate, and to return 
to your own flag. ’ ’ 

Clinch stared as if he did not, or could not, believe what 
he heard ; then the truth flashed on his mind, and he burst 
into tears. Throughout that day his feelings had been in 
extremes, hope once more opening a long vista of happiness 
for the future, through the renewed confidence and advice 




39S 


of the opposite coast, in search of the yawl. She had seen 
the light at the gaff of the Proserpine, and, at first, supposed 
it might be a signal from the missing boat. With a view to 
make sure of it, the lugger had been kept away until the 
night-glasses announced a ship ; when she was hauled up on 
a wind, and had made two or three successive half-boards, 
to vreather the point where her captain lay concealed ; the 
Marina Grande of Sorrento being one of the places of 
rendezvous mentioned by our hero, in his last instructions. 

There was a scene of lively congratulation, and of even 
pleasing emotion, on the deck of the lugger, when Raoul so 
unexpectedly appeared. He had every quality to make 
himself beloved by his men. Brave, adventurous, active, 
generous, and kind-hearted, his character rendered him a 
favorite to a degree that was not common even among the 
people of that chivalrous nation. The French mariner will 
bear familiarity better than his great rival and neighbor, the 
Englishman ; and it was natural with our hero to be frank 
and free with all, whether above him or below him in con- 
dition. The temperaments to be brought into subjection 
were not as rude and intractable as those of the Anglo- 
Saxon ; and the off-hand, dashing character of Raoul was 
admirably adapted to win both the admiration and the affec- 
tions of his people. They now thronged about him, with- 
out hesitation or reserve, each man anxious to make his good 
wishes known, his felicitations heard. 

“I have kept you playing about the fire, camarades,” 
said Raoul, affected by the proofs of attachment he received ; 
“but we will now take our revenge. There are English 
boats in chase of me, at this moment, under the land ; we 
will try to pick up one or two of them, by way of letting 
them know there is still such a vessel as Le Feu-Follet.” 

An exclamation of pleasure followed ; then an old 
quartermaster, who had actually taught his commander his 
first lessons in seamanship, shoved through the crowd, and 
put his questions with a sort of authority. 

“Mon capitaine,” he said, “have you been near these 
English ? ’ ’ 

“Ay, Benoit ; somewhat nearer than I could wish. To 


438 




the agony they endured from the shocks of rising and 
falling under the ground-swell. 

Raoul was too deliberate, and too much collected, not to 
feel his advantage. Anxious to keep his means of further 
defence in the best condition, he directed all the guns to 
cease, and the damages to be repaired. Then he went with 
a party towards the boat that had fallen into his hands. 
To encumber himself with prisoners of any sort, in his act- 
ual situation, would have been a capital mistake, but to do 
this with wounded men would have been an act of folly. 
The boat had tourniquets and other similar appliances in it, 
and he directed some of the French to use them on those 
that wanted them most. He also supplied the parched lips 
of the sufferers with water ; when, conceiving that his duty 
was performed, he gave an order to haul the boat on one 
side, and to shove it forcibly out of the line of any coming 
conflict. 

“Halloo, Captain Rule!” called out Ithuel, “you are 
wrong there. Tet the boat lie where it is, and it will answer 
a better turn than another breastwork. The English will 
scarcely Are through their own wounded.” 

The look that Raoul cast towards his auxiliary was fierce, 
even indignant ; but, disregarding the advice, he motioned 
for his own men to obey the order he had already given 
them. Then, as if mindful of Ithuel’ s importance, his late 
timely succor, and the necessity of not offending him, he 
walked to the side of the islet nearest to the felucca, and 
spoke courteously and cheerfully to him whose advice he 
had just treated with indifference, if not with disdain. This 
was not hypocrisy, but a prudent adaptation of his means to 
his circumstances. 

“Bon, brave Etooell,” he said, “your bags of bullets 
were welcome friends, and they arrived at the right mo- 
ment.” 

‘ ‘ Why, Captain Rule, in the Granite country we are never 
wasteful of our means. You can always wait for the white 
of Englishmen’s eyes in these affairs. They’re spiteful 
devils, on the whull, and seem to be near-sighted to a man. 
They came so clus’ at Bunker Hill, our folks — ” 




439 


** Bon,” repeated Raoul, feeling no wish to hear a thrice- 
told tale gone through again. Bunker Hill invariably placing 
Ithuel on a great horse in the way of bragging ; for he not 
only imagined that great victory a New England triumph, as 
in fact it was, but he was much disposed to encourage the 
opinion that it was in a great measure ” Granite.” “Bon,” 
interrupted Raoul, ‘ ‘ Bunkair was good ; mais les Roches 
aux Sirens is bettair. If you have more de ces balles, load, 
encore. ’ ’ 

“What think you of this. Captain Rule?” asked the 
other, pointing up at a little vane that began to flutter at 
the head of one of his masts. ‘ ‘ Here is the west wind, and 
an opportunity ofiers to be off. Eet us take wit, and run ! ” 

Raoul started, and gazed at the heavens, the vane, and the 
surface of the sea ; the latter beginning to show a slightly 
ruffled surface. Then his eye wandered towards Ghita. 
The girl had risen from her knees, and her eyes followed 
his every movement. When they met his, with a sweet, 
imploring smile, she pointed upwards, as if beseeching him 
to pay the debt of gratitude he owed to that dread Being 
who had as yet borne him unharmed through the fray. He 
understood her meaning, kissed his hand in affectionate gal- 
lantry, and turned towards Ithuel, to pursue the discourse. 

“It is too soon,” he said. “We are impregnable here, 
and the wind is still too light. An hour hence, and we will 
all go together.” 

Ithuel grumbled ; but his commander heeded it not. The 
judgment of the latter had decided right. The boats were 
rallying within musket-shot, indifferent to the danger, and 
it was evident the attack was to be renewed. To have at- 
tempted to escape at such an instant, would have been throw- 
ing away the great advantage of the ruins, and might have 
endangered all, without benefiting any one. 

In point of fact. Sir Frederick Dashwood had become 
keenly alive to a sense of the disgrace he was likely to incur, 
in the event of the ships’ getting round, and robbing him 
of the credit of capturing the lugger. The usually apathetic 
nature of this young man was thoroughly aroused, and, like 
all who are difficult to excite, he became respectable when 


394 




lugs, the little jigger, the hull almost awash, and the whole 
of the fairy form, came mistily into view, as the swift bird 
assumes color and proportion, while it advances out of the 
depths of the void. The vessel was but a hundred yards 
distant ; in another minute she would be past. 

“ Vive la Republique ! '" said Raoul, distinctly, though 
he feared to trust his voice with a loud hail. 

Again the canvas flapped, and the trampling of feet was 
heard on the lugger’s deck ; then she came sweeping into 
the wind, within fifty feet of the yawl. Raoul watched the 
movement ; and by the time her way was nearly lost, he 
was alongside, and had caught a rope. At the next instant 
he was on board her. 

Raoul trod the deck of his lugger again, with the pride 
of a monarch as he ascends his throne. Certain of her sail- 
ing qualities, and confident of his own skill, this gallant sea- 
man was perfectly indifferent to the circumstance that he 
was environed by powerful enemies. The wind and the 
hour were propitious, and no sensation of alarm disturbed 
the exultation of that happy moment. The explanations 
that passed between him and his first lieutenant, Pintard, 
were brief but distinct. Te Feu-Follet had kept off the 
land, with her sails lowered, a trim in which a vessel of her 
rig and lowness in the water would not be visible more than 
five or six miles, until sufiicient time had elapsed, when she 
was taken into the Gulf of Salerno, to look for signals from 
the heights of St. Agata. Finding none, she went to sea 
again, as has been stated, sweeping along the coast, in the 
hope of falling in with intelligence. Although she could not 
be seen by her enemies, she saw the three cruisers who were 
on the lookout, and great uneasiness prevailed on board, 
concerning the fate of the absentees. On the afternoon of 
that day, the lugger was carried close in with the northwest 
side of Ischia, which island she rounded at dusk, seemingly 
intending to anchor at Baiae, a harbor seldom without allied 
cruisers. As the wind came off the land, however, she kept 
away, and passing between Procida and Misenum, she came 
out into the Bay of Naples, about three hours before meet- 
ing with Raoul, with the intention of examining the whole 




391 


‘ ‘ Say , not so, Raoul ; be prudent, for the sake of your 
tiountry — ’ ’ 

“ But not for thine, Ghita ? ” 

“Yes, Raoul, and for mine also. I wish not to conceal 
how much happier I shall be in hearing of 3’^our welfare and 
peace of mind. I fear, though an enemy, it will ever give 
me pleasure to learn that thou art victorious. But here is 
the road, yonder the cottage where my uncle waits for me, 
and we must part. Heaven bless thee, Raoul ; my prayers 
will be full of thee. Do not — do not risk more to see me ; 
but, if — ” The heart of the girl was so full, that emotion 
choked her. Raoul listened intently for the next word, but 
he listened in vain. 

“If what, dear Ghita ? Thou wert about to utter some- 
thing that I feel is encouraging. ’ ’ 

“ O ! how I hope it may be so, my poor Raoul ! I was 
going to add, if God ever touches thy heart, and thou 
wouldst stand before his altar, a believer, with one at thy 
side who is ready and anxious to devote all to thee but her 
love of the Being who created her, and her treasures of future 
happiness, seek Ghita ; thou wilt find her thou wouldst have. ’ ’ 

Raoul stretched forth his arms, to clasp the tender girl to 
his bosom ; but, fearful of herself, she avoided him, and fled 
along the path, like one terrified with the apprehension of 
pursuit. The young man paused a moment, half inclined 
to follow ; then prudence regained its influence, and he be- 
thought him of the necessity of getting to a place of safety 
while it was yet night. The future was still before him, in 
hope, and that hope led him to look forward to other occa- 
sions to press his suit. 

Tittle, however, did Raoul Yvard, much as he prized her, 
know Ghita Caraccioli. Her nature was full of womanly 
sensibilities, it is true, and her heart replete with tenderness 
for him in particular ; but the adoration she paid to God was 
of that lasting character which endures to the end. In all 
she said and felt, she was truth itself; and while no false 
shame interposed to cause her to conceal her attachment, 
there was a moral armor thrown about her purposes that ren- 
dered them impregnable to the assaults of the world. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

‘‘Thus doth the ever-changing course of things 
Run a perpetual circle, ever turning ; 

And that same day, that highest glory brings. 

Brings us to the point of back returning.” 

DanieI/. 

I N scenes like that just related, it is not easy to collect 
details. All that was ever known beyond the impetu- 
ous manner of the assault in which the ruins were 
carried, was in the dire result. Half the French on 
the islet were weltering in their blood, and the surface of the 
rocks was well sprinkled with enemies who had not been 
more fortunate. It had been a desperate onset, in which 
mortification increased natural intrepidity, which had been 
nobly resisted, but in which numbers had necessarily pre- 
vailed. Among the English slain was Sir Frederick Dash- 
wood himself ; he lay about a yard from his own gig, with a 
ball directly through his head. Griffin was seriously hurt, 
but Clinch was untouched, on the low rampart, waving an 
English Jack, after having hauled down a similar emblem 
of the French. His boat had first touched the rock, her 
crew had first reached the ruin, and of all in her, he himself 
had taken the lead. Desperately had he contended for Jane 
and a commission, and this time Providence appeared to 
smile on his efforts. As for Raoul, he lay in front of his 
own rampart, having rushed forward to meet the party of 
Clinch, and had actually crossed swords with his late prisoner, 
when a musket-ball, fired by the hands of McBean, traversed 
his body. 

‘ ‘ Courage, mes braves ! en avant ! ” he was heard to 
shout, as he leaped the low wall, to repel the invaders ; and 

442 





443 


when he lay on the hard rock, his voice was still strong 
enough to make itself heard, crying, ‘ ‘ I^ieutenant — nom de 
Dieu — sauve mon Feu-Follet ! ’ ’ 

It is probable that Pintard would not have stirred, even 
at this order, had not the English ships been seen, at that 
instant, coming round Campanella, with a leading westerly 
wind. The flap of canvas was audible near by, too, and 
turning, he saw the Michael falling off under her foresail, 
and already gathering steerage-way. Not a soul was visi- 
ble on her decks, Ithuel, who steered, lying so close as to 
be hid by her waist-cloths. The hawsers of the lugger 
were cut, and Ee Feu-Follet started back like an affrighted 
steed. It was only to let go the brails, and her foresail fell. 
Eight, and feeling the breeze, which now came in strong 
puffs, she shot out of the little bay, and wore short round 
on her keel. Two or three of the English boats attempted 
to follow, but it was idle. Winchester, who now com- 
manded, recalled them, saying that it remained for the ships 
to perform their task. The day had been too bloody, in- 
deed, to think of more than securing the present success, 
and of attending to the hurt. 

Eeaving the party on the islets for a moment, we will 
follow the two vessels in their attempt to escape. Pintard 
and his companions abandoned Raoul with heavy hearts, but 
they plainly saw him prostrated on the rocks, and by the 
hand placed on his side, understood the desperate nature of 
his wound. Eike him, they felt some such interest as one 
entertains for a beloved mistress in the fate of the lugger, 
and the words, “Sauve mon Feu-Follet ! “ were ringing in 
their ears. 

As soon as the lugger got round, she set her after-sail, 
and then she began to glide through the water with the 
usual knife-like parting of the element under her bows. 
The course she steered took her directly out of the bay, 
seeming to lead across the fore- foots of the English ships. 
Ithuel did not imitate this manoeuvre. He kept more 
away in the line for Paestum, rightly enough believing that 
in the greedy desire to overtake the lugger, his own move- 
ment would pass unheeded. The owner of this craft was 


390 




before reproach, sneer, or argument, should be used to bring 
thee pain, after I once felt that thou leanedst on me for sup- 
port. All that I have said has come from the wish that thou 
wouldst not misunderstand me in a matter that I know thou 
think’ St important.” 

‘ ‘ Ah, Raoul, little dost thou understand the hearts of 
women. If thy power is so great over me to-day, as almost 
to incline me from the most solemn of all my duties, what 
would it become when the love of a girl should turn into the 
absorbing affection of a wife ! I find it hard, even now, to 
reconcile the love I bear to God, with the strong feeling thou 
hast created in my heart. A year of wedded life would en- 
danger more than I can express to you in words.” 

“And then the fear of losing thy salvation is stronger 
than thy earthly attachments ? ’ ’ 

“ Nay, Raoul, it is not that. I am not selfish, or cowardly, 
as respects myself, I hope ; nor do I think at all of any pun- 
ishment that might follow from a marriage with an unbe- 
liever ; what I most apprehend, is being taught to love my 
God less than I feel I now do, or than, as the creature of 
his mercy, I ought.” 

“Thou speakest as if man could rival the being whom 
thou worshippest. I have always understood, that the love 
we bear the Deity, and that we bear each other, are of a very 
different quality. I can see no necessity for their interfer- 
ing with each other.” 

” Nothing can be less alike, Raoul ; yet one may impair, 
if not destroy, the other. O, if thou wouldst but believe 
that thy Saviour was thy God — if thou couldst but be dead 
to his love, and not active against Him, I might hope for 
better things ; but I dare not pledge all my earthly duties 
to one who is openly an enemy of my own great Master and 
Redeemer. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ I will not, cannot deceive thee, Ghita ; that I leave to 
the priests. Thou know’st my opinions, and must take me 
as I am, or wholly reject me. This I say, though I feel that 
disappointment, if you persist in your cruelty, will drive me 
to some desperate act, by means of which I shall yet taste of 
the mercies of these English.” 




387 


and prepared to accompany her on her way to the road. 
Carlo preceded the pair, telling his niece that she would find 
him at a cottage on the way that was well known to both. 

The obscurity was not so great as to render the walking 
very difficult, and Raoul and Ghita pursued their course 
slowly along the rocks, each oppressed with the same sensa- 
tion of regret at parting, though influenced by nearly oppos- 
ing views for the future. The girl took the young man’s 
arm without hesitation ; and there was a tenderness in the 
tones of her voice, as well as in her general manner, that 
betrayed how nearly her heart was interested in what was 
passing. Still, principle was ever uppermost in her thoughts, 
and she determined now to speak plainly, and to the purpose. 

‘ ‘ Raoul, ’ ’ she said, after listening to some one of those fer- 
vent declarations of love that were peculiarly agreeable to 
one of her affectionate and sincere nature, even when she 
most felt the necessity of repelling the insinuating suit, 
“there must be an end of this. I can never again go 
through the scenes I have lately witnessed, nor allow you to 
run such fearful risks. The sooner we understand each 
other, and, I may say, the sooner we part, it will be the wiser 
and the better for the interests of both. I blame myself for 
suffering the intimacy to last so long, and for proceeding 
so far.” 

“And this is said by a fervent- souled Italian girl ! One 
of eighteen years ; who comes of a region in which it is the 
boast that the heart is even warmer than the sun ; of a race, 
among whom it is hard to find one — oui, even a poor one — 
who is not ready to sacrifice home, country, hopes, fortune, 
nay, life itself, to give happiness to the man who has chosen 
her from all the rest of her sex.” 

“It would seem to me easy to do all this, Raoul. Si, 
I think I could sacrifice everything you have named, to 
make you happy ! Home I have not, unless the prince s 
towers can thus be called ; country, since the sad event of 
this week, I feel as if I had altogether lost ; of hopes, I have 
few in this world, with which your image has not been con- 
nected ; but, those which were once so precious to me, are 
now, I fear, lost ; you know I have no fortune, to tempt me 


446 




padrone of the felucca tore his hair, threw himself on the 
quarter-deck, and played many other desperate antics, in 
the indulgence of his despair, or to excite sympathy : but 
all in vain ; the lieutenant was obstinate, refusing to alter 
tack or sheet to chase a miserable felucca, with so glorious 
an object in full view before him as the celebrated lugger 
of Raoul Yvard. As a matter of course, Ithuel passed out 
to sea unmolested ; and it may as well be said here that, in 
due time, he reached Marseilles in safety, where the felucca 
was sold, and the Granite seaman disappeared for a season. 
There will be occasion to speak of him only once again in 
this legend. 

The trial of speed must soon have satisfied Pintard that 
he had little to apprehend from his pursuers, even with the 
breeze there was. But circumstances favored the lugger. 
The wind hauled materially to the northward, and before 
the sun set, it enabled the French to run off wing-and- 
wing, still edging from the land. It now began to blow so 
heavily as to compel the ships to reduce their light canvas. 
Some time before the night set in, both frigates and the 
sloop were under main-top-gallant sails only, with top-mast 
and lower studding-sails on each side. Te Feu-Follet 
made no change. Her jigger had been taken in, as soon 
as she kept dead away, and then she dashed ahead, under 
her two enormous lugs, confident in their powers of endur- 
ance. The night was not very dark ; but it promised to 
carry her beyond the vision of her pursuers even before 
eight bells, did the present difference in sailing continue. 

A stern chase is proverbially a long chase. For one 
fast vessel to outsail another a single mile in an hour, is a 
great superiority ; and even in such circumstances, many 
hours must elapse ere one loses sight of the other by 
day. The three English ships held way together surpris- 
ingly, the Proserpine leading a little ; while Ee Feu Follet 
might possibly have found herself, at the end of a six hours’ 
chase, some four miles in advance of her, three of which she 
had gained since keeping off wing-and-wing. The lightness 
of the little craft essentially aided her. The canvas had 
less weight to drag after it ; and Pintard observed that the 




447 


hull seemed to skim the waves, as soon as the sharp stem 
had divided them, and the water took the bearings of the 
vessel. Hour after hour did he sit on the bowsprit, watch- 
ing her progress ; a crest of foam scarce appearing ahead, 
before it was glittering under the lugger’s bottom. Occa- 
sionally, a pursuing sea cast the stern upwards, as if about 
to throw it in advance of the bows ; but he Feu-Follet was 
too much accustomed to this treatment to be disturbed, and 
she ever rose on the billows, like a bubble, and then the 
glancing arrow scarce surpassed the speed with which she 
hastened forward, as if to recover lost time. 

Cuffe did not quit the deck until the bell struck two, in 
the middle watch. This made it one o’clock. Yelverton 
and the master kept the watches between them, but the 
captain was always near with his advice and orders. 

“That craft seems faster when she gets her sails wing- 
and-wing than she is even close-hauled, it seems to me, 
Yelverton,” observed Cuffe, after taking a long look at the 
chase with the night-glass; “I begin to be afraid we shall 
lose her. Neither of the other ships does anything to help 
us. Here we are all three, dead in her wake, following 
each other like so many old maids going to church of a 
Sunday morning.” 

‘ ‘ It would have been better. Captain Cuffe, had the Ring- 
dove kept more to the westward, and the frigate farther 
east. Fast as the lugger is with her wings spread, she’s 
faster with them jammed up on a wind. I expect every 
moment to find her sheering off to the westward, and grad- 
ually getting us in her wake on a wind. I fear we should 
find that worse work than even this, sir.” 

“ I would not lose her now, for a thousand pounds ! I 

do not see what the d 1 Dashwood was about, that he 

did not secure her when he got possession of the rocks. I 
shall rattle him down a little, as soon as we meet.” 

Cuffe would have been shocked had he known that the 
body of Sir Frederick Dashwood was, just at that moment, 
going through the melancholy process of being carried on 
board a two-decker, up at Naples, the captain of which was 
his kinsman. But he did not know it, nor did he learn his 



CHAPTER XXV. 

“ And chiefly thou, O spirit, that dost prefer. 

Before all temples, the upright heart and pure, 

Instruct me ; for thou know’st ! ” 

Mii,TON. 

T he spot in which Carlo Giuntotardi had taken 
refuge is well known on the Sorrentine shore, as 
the water-cavern at the ruins of Queen Joan’s 
country-house. Cavern it is not, though the en- 
trance is beneath a low, natural arch, the basin within being 
open to the heavens, and the place resembling an artificial ex- 
cavation made to shelter boats. Eet the origin of this little 
haven be what it may, art could not have devised a more con- 
venient or a more perfect refuge than it afforded to our fugi- 
tives. Once through the arch, they would have been effectu- 
ally concealed from their pursuers imder a noonday sun ; nor 
would any, who were unacquainted with the peculiarities of 
the entrance, dream of a boat’s lying, as it might be, buried 
in the rocks of the little promontory. Neither Ghita nor her 
uncle any longer felt concern ; but the former announced her 
intention to land here, assuring Raoul that she could easily 
find her way into the bridle-path which leads to St. Agata. 

The desperate character of the recent chase, aided by his 
late almost miraculous escape from death, joined to the 
necessity of parting from his mistress, rendered our hero 
melancholy, if not moody. He could not ask Ghita to 
share his dangers any longer ; yet he felt, if he permitted 
her now to quit him, the separation might be forever. Still 
he made no objection ; but, leaving Ithuel in charge of the 
boat, he assisted Ghita up the funnel-like sides of the basin, 

386 




449 


was tinder double-reefed topsails, with her head up as high 
as west-southwest, laboring along through the troughs of the 
seas left by the late Tramontana. The weather was thick, 
rain and drizzle coming in the squalls, and there were 
moments when the water could not be seen a cable’s length 
from the ship ; at no time was the usual horizon fairly 
visible. In this manner the frigate struggled ahead, Cuffe 
unwilling to abandon all hopes of success, and yet seeing 
little prospect of its accomplishment. The lookouts were 
aloft, as usual, but it was as much for form as for any great 
use they were likely to be, since it was seldom a man could 
see farther from the cross-trees than he could from the 
deck. 

The officers, as well as the men, had breakfasted. A 
species of sullen discontent pervaded the ship, and the 
recent kind feelings towards Raoul Yvard had nearly 
vanished in disappointment. Some began to grumble about 
the chances of the other ships’ falling in with the lugger, 
while others swore that “It mattered not who saw her; 
catch her none could, who had not an illicit understanding 
with the Father of Ties. She was well named the Jack-o’ 
Tantem ; for Jack-o’ -Tantern she was, and Jack-o’ -Tantern 
would she ever prove to be. As well might a false fire be 
followed in a meadow, as such a craft at sea. They might 
think themselves fortunate if the officers and people sent 
against her in the boats ever got back to their own whole- 
some ship again.” 

In the midst of such prognostics and complaints, the cap- 
tain of the fore-top shouted the words ‘ ‘ Sail, ho ! ” The 
usual inquiry and answer followed, and the officers got 
a glimpse of the object. The stranger was distant half-a- 
league, and he was seen very indistinctly on account of the 
haze ; but seen he was. 

“’Tis a xebec,” growled the master, who was one of 
the grumblers of the day, “ a fellow with his hold crammed 
with a wine that would cover the handsomest woman s face 
in Tunnun with wrinkles.” 

“ By Jupiter Ammon ! ” Cuffe exclaimed, “’tisTe Few- 
Folly, or I do not know an old acquaintance. Quarter- 

39 


452 




no one knew where they struck. Four had been fired, 
when a squall succeeded that shut in the chase, and, of 
course, the firing was suspended. So severe was this 
momentary effort of the African gales, hot, drowsy, and 
deadening as they are, that the Proserpine started her 
mizzen- topsail sheets, and clewed up her main -course, to save 
the spar. But the tack was instantly boarded again, and 
the topsail set. A gleam of sunshine succeeded, but the 
lugger had disappeared ! 

The sun did not remain visible, and that faintly, more than a 
minute ; still, the eye could range several miles, for thrice 
that period. After this the horizon became more limited, 
but no squall occurred for a quarter of an hour. When the 
lugger was missed, the Proserpine was heading up within 
half a point of the spot at which she was supposed to be. 
In a short time she drove past this point, perhaps a hundred 
fathoms to leeward of it. Here she tacked, and stretching 
off a sufiicient distance to the southward and westward, came 
round again, and heading up east-southeast, was thought to 
sweep along over the empty track. Not a sign of the miss- 
ing vessel was discovered. The sea had swallowed all, 
lugger, people, and hamper. It was supposed that, owing 
to the fact that so many light articles had been left on the 
rocks, nothing remained to float. All had accompanied Te 
Feu-Follet to the bottom. Of boats there were none, these 
being at the islet of the ruins, and, if any seaman swam 
off in the desperate attempt to save his life in the midst of 
the caldron of waters, he did not succeed, or was overlooked 
by the English in their search. The latter, indeed, may have 
miscalculated their distances, and not have passed within a 
cable’ s-length of the place where the victims, if any such 
there were, still struggled for existence. 

Cuffe, and all around him, were forcibly struck with so 
unlooked-for and so dire a calamity. The loss of a vessel, 
under such circumstances, produces an effect like a sudden 
death among companions. It is a fate all may meet with, 
and it induces reflection and sadness. Still, the English did 
not give up the hope of rescuing some unfortunate wretch, 
clinging to a spar, or supporting himself by supernatural 


XP(IltnG=*anbs=Mino 


453 


efforts, for several hours. At noon, however, the ship 
squared away and ran for Naples before the wind, being 
drawn aside from her course by another chase, in which she 
succeeded better, capturing a sloop-of-war, which she carried 
in several days later. 

The first act of Cuffe, on anchoring in the fleet, was to go 
on board the Foudroyant, and report himself and his pro- 
ceedings to the rear-admiral. Nelson had heard nothing of 
the result, beyond what had occurred at the islets, and the 
separation of the ships. 

“Well, Cufie,” he said, reaching out his remaining hand 
kindly to his old Agamemnon, as the other entered the 
cabin, “ the fellow has got off, after all ! It has been a bad 
business altogether, but we must make the best of it. Where 
do you fancy the lugger to be ? “ 

Cuffe explained what had happened, and put into the ad- 
miral’s hand an official letter, explaining his recent success. 
With the last Nelson was pleased— at the first surprised. 
After a long, thoughtful pause, he went into the after-cabin, 
and returned, throwing a small, jack-like flag on the floor. 

“ As Tyon was cruising about,” he said, “ and his sloop 
was pitching her cat-heads under, this thing was washed upon 
a spare anchor, where it stuck. It ’s a queer flag. Can it 
have had any connection with the lugger ? ’ ’ 

Cuffe looked, and he immediately recognized the little ala- 
^-a/ajack, that the Italians had described to him in their 
many conversations. It was the only vestige that was ever 
found of the Wing-and-Wing. 




CHAPTKR XXX. 

How beautiful is sorrow, when ’t is drest 
By virgin innocence ! It makes 
Felicity in others seem deformed.” 

Davenant. 

W E must return to the rocks, and the melancholy 
scene they offered. Our purposes will be an- 
swered, however, by advancing the time into 
• the evening, omitting many things that the 
reader can imagine, without our relating them. 

It is scarcely necessary to say that Andrea Barrofaldi and 
Vito Viti took no part in the bloody transactions we have 
related. When all was over, however, they drew near to the 
rocks, and, sitting in their boat, contemplating the sad spec- 
tacle presented within the narrow compass of the islet of 
the ruins, the following short dialogue occurred between 
them : — 

“ Vice-govematore, ” demanded the podest^, pointing to 
the place where lay Sir Frederick, a motionless corpse, 
Raoul bleeding, and others writhing under their wounds, 

‘ ‘ do you call this reality, or is it a part of that damnable 
doctrine which is enough to set the whole earth by the ears, 
and to turn men into tigers and hawks ? ” 

“ I fear, neighbor Vito, this will only prove too true. I 
see the bodies of Sir Dashwood and Sir Smees ; and God 
knows how many more have this day departed for the world 
of spirits.” 

“Leaving behind them only a world of shadows,” mut- 
tered Vito Viti, even that melancholy spectacle failing to 
draw his thoughts altogether from a discussion that had now 
lasted near four-and-twenty hours. But the moment was 

454 


Mtno=-anO:*Mino 


455 


not propitious to argument, and the two Italians landed. 
This was within half an hour after the struggle had ceased ; 
and our intentions are to advance the time to the moment 
mentioned in the opening of this chapter. 

We must give here, however, a rapid sketch of the pro- 
ceedings that narrowed down the view to that we intend 
shortly to lay before the reader. As soon as there was leis- 
ure, Winchester made a survey of the field of battle. He 
found many of his own men slain, and more wounded. Of 
the French on the islet, quite half were hurt ; but the mortal 
wound received by their leader was the blow that all la- 
mented. The surgeon soon pronounced Raoul’s case to be 
hopeless ; and this declaration was heard with regret even 
by generous enemies. The defence had been desperate ; it 
would have succeeded, had it been within the scope of 
possibility for so few courageous men to repel double their 
numbers of those who were equally brave. Both sides had 
fought for honor ; and, when this is the case, victory gener- 
ally awaits the strongest. 

As soon as it was perceived that all the ships were likely 
to be led far to leeward in chase, the English ofiicers felt the 
necessity of acting for themselves. The medical men had 
been busy from the first, and in the course of a couple of 
hours, all had been done for the wounded that present cir- 
cumstances would allow. The amputations were few, and 
each vessel having sent a surgeon, these were all made, 
while the other appliances had been successfully used in 
such cases as would be benefited by them. The day was 
drawing near a close, and the distance from the fleet was so 
great as to call for exertion. 

As soon, therefore, as the uninjured men were refreshed 
and the wounded cared for, the latter were put into the 
launches, in the best manner they might be, and the cutters 
took them in tow. One had no sooner received its melan- 
choly freight, than it left the islets, on its way to the hos- 
pital-ship of the fleet. The others succeeded, in turn ; the 
unhurt French willingly ofiering to assist in the performance 
of this pious duty. At length, but three boats remained. 
One was Sir Frederick’s gig, which Winchester had kept 


456 




for his own particular use ; another was the yawl of Andrea 
Barrofaldi ; and the third, the little craft in which Carlo 
Giuntotardi had come from the shore. Of the French, no 
one remained but the surgeon of the lugger, Raoul’s stew- 
ard and personal attendant, and Raoul himself. If to these 
be added the two Italians, and their oarsmen. Carlo and his 
niece, with Winchester and his boat’s crew, we enumerate 
all who now remained at the rocks. 

By this time the sun had sunk below the adjacent hills, 
and it was necessary to decide on some course. Winchester 
consulted the surgeon as to the expediency of removing his 
patient. Could it be done, it had better.be done soon. 

“Monsieur lieutenant,’’ answered this personage a little 
dryly, “mon brave capitaine has but a short time to live. 
He has entreated to be left here, on the scene of his glory, 
and in the company of that female whom he so well loved ; 
mais — ^you are the victors,’’ shrugging his shoulders, “and 
you will do your own pleasure. ’ ’ 

Winchester colored and bit his lips. The idea of tortur- 
ing Raoul, either in body or mind, was the last intention of 
one so humane, but he felt indignant at the implied suspi- 
cion. Commanding himself, notwithstanding, he bowed 
courteously, and intimated that he would remain himself, 
with his prisoner, until all was over. The Frenchman was 
surprised, and when he read the sympathy of the other in 
the expression of his countenance, he felt regret for his own 
distrust, and still more at having expressed it. 

“ Mais, Monsieur,’’ he answered, “ night will soon come ; 
you may have to pass it on the rocks.” 

‘ ‘ And if we do, doctor, it is no more than we seamen are 
used to. Boat-service is common duty with us. I have 
only to wrap myself in my cloak, to enjoy a seaman’s com- 
fort.” 

This settled the matter, and no more was said. The sur- 
geon, a man accustomed to the exercise of such resources, 
soon managed to make his dispositions for the final scene. 
In clearing the lugger, a hundred light articles had been 
thrown on the islet on which she had touched, and among 
others were several rude mattresses of the seamen. Two 




457 


or three of these were procured, placed on the smoothest 
surface of the rock, and a bed formed for Raoul. The 
medical man and the seamen would have erected a tent with 
a sail, but this the wounded man forbade. 

“ Tet me breathe the free air,” he said ; “ I shall use but 
little of it ; let that little be free.” 

It was useless to oppose such a wish ; nor was there any 
motive for it. The air was pure, and little need be appre- 
hended from the night, in behalf of Ghita, surrounded as 
they were by the pure waters of the ocean. Even when the 
Tramontana came, although it was cool, its coolness was not 
unpleasant, the adjacent hill sheltering the islets from its 
immediate influence. 

The English seamen collected some fuel from the spare 
spars of the lugger, and lighted a fire on the rock where 
they had been found. Eood of all sorts was abundant, and 
several casks of water had been struck out whole, as pro- 
vision against a siege. Here they made coffee, and cooked 
enough food for the wants of all the party. The distance 
prevented their disturbing those who remained near Raoul ; 
while the light of the fire, which was kept in a cheerful 
blaze, cast a picturesque glow upon the group around the 
dying man, as soon as the night had fairly set in. It super- 
seded, too, the necessity of any lamps or torches. 

We pass over all the first outpourings of Ghita’ s anguish, 
when she learned the wound of Raoul, her many and fervent 
prayers, and the scenes that took place during the time 
that the islet was still crowded with the combatants. More 
quiet hours succeeded when these last were gone ; and as 
the night advanced, something like the fixed tranquillity 
of settled despair followed the first emotions. When ten 
o’clock arrived, we reach the moment at which we wish to 
raise the curtain once more, in order to present the principal 
actors in the scene. 

Raoul lay on the summit of the islet, where his eye could 
range over the mild waters that washed the rock, and his 
ear listen to the murmurings of his own element. The 
Tramontana, as usual, had driven all perceptible vapor 
from the atmosphere, and the vault of heaven, in its ceru- 




458 


lean blue, and spangled with thousands of stars, stretched 
itself above him, a glorious harbinger for the future, to one 
who died in hope. The care of Ghita and the attendants 
had collected around the spot so many little comforts, as to 
give it the air of a room suddenly divested of sides and ceil- 
ing, but habitable and useful. Winchester, fatigued with 
his day’s work, and mindful of the wish that Raoul might 
so naturally feel to be alone with Ghita, had lain down on a 
mattress, leaving orders to be called should anything occur ; 
while the surgeon, conscious that he could do no more, had 
imitated his example, making a similar request. As for 
Carlo Giuntotardi, he seldom slept ; he was at his prayers 
in the ruins. Andrea and the podesta paced the rock to 
keep themselves warm, slightly regretting the sudden burst 
of humanity which had induced them to remain. 

Raoul and Ghita were alone. The former lay on his 
back, his head bolstered, and his face upturned towards the 
vault of heaven. The pain was over, and life was ebbing 
fast. Still, the mind was unshackled, and thought busy as 
ever. His heart was still full of Ghita ; though his ex- 
traordinary situation, and more especially the glorious view 
before his eyes, blended certain pictures of the future with 
his feelings, that were as novel as he found them powerful. 

With the girl it was different. As a woman, she felt the 
force of this sudden blow in a manner that she found diffi- 
cult to bear. Still, she blessed God that what had occurred, 
happened in her presence, as it might be; leaving her 
the means of acting, and the efficacy of prayer. To say 
that she did not yet feel the liveliest love for Raoul, all 
that tenderness which constitutes so large a portion of 
woman’s nature, would be untrue ; but her mind was made 
up to the worst, and her thoughts were of another state 
of being. 

A long pause occurred, in which Raoul remained stead- 
fastly gazing at the starry canopy above. 

“It is remarkable, Ghita,” he said, at length, “that I, 
Raoul Yvard — the corsair — the man of wars and tempests, 
fierce combats and hair-breadth escapes — should be dying 
here, on this rock, with all those stars looking down upon 


me, as it might be, from your heaven, seeming to smile 
upon me ! ” 

“Why not your heaven, as well as mine, Raoul?” Ghita 
answered tremulously. “ It is as vast as He who dwells in 
it whose throne it is — and can contain all who love Him, 
and seek His mercy.” 

Dost thou think one like me would be received into His 
presence, Ghita?” 

‘ ‘ Do not doubt it ; free from all error and weakness Him- 
self, His Holy Spirit delights in the penitent and the sorrowful. 
O ! dearest, dearest Raoul, if thou would’ st but pray ! ” 

A gleam like that of triumph glowed on the face of the 
wounded man ; and Ghita, in the intensity of her expecta- 
tion, rose and stood over him, her own features filled with 
a momentary hope. 

“ Mon Feu-Follet ! ” exclaimed Raoul, letting the tongue 
reveal the transient thought which brought the gleam of 
triumph to his countenance. “Thou, at least, hast escaped ! 
These English will not count thee among their victims, and 
glut their eyes on thy charming proportions ! ’ ’ 

Ghita felt a chill at her heart. She fell back on her seat, 
and continued watching her lover’s countenance with a 
feeling of despair, though inextinguishable tenderness was 
still crowding around her soul. Raoul heard the movement ; 
and turning his head he gazed at the girl for quite a minute, 
with a portion of that intense admiration that used to gleam 
from his eyes in happier moments. 

“ It is better as it is, Ghita,” he said, “ than that I should 
live without thee. Fate has been kind in thus ending my 
misery.” 

“O ! Raoul ! there is no fate but the holy will of God. 
Deceive not thyself at this awful moment ; bow down thy 
proud spirit in humility, and turn to Him for succor ! ” 

“ Poor Ghita ! Well, thine is not the only innocent mind 
by millions that hath been trammelled by priests ; and, I 
suppose, what hath commenced with the beginning will last 
till the end.” 

“The beginning and the end are both with God, Raoul. 
Since the commencement of time hath He established laws 


460 


XKIlin0==anC)*»XP(IlinG 


which have brought about the trials of thy life — the sadness 
of this very hour.” 

“And dost thou think He will pardon all thy care of one 
so unworthy ? ’ ’ 

Ghita bowed her head to the mattress over which she 
leaned, and buried her face in her hands. When the min- 
ute of prayer that succeeded was over, and her face was 
again raised with the flush of feeling tempered by inno- 
cence on it, Raoul was lying on his back, his eyes riveted 
again on the vault of heaven. His professional pursuits 
had led him further into the study of astronomy than com- 
ported with his general education ; and, addicted to specu- 
lation, its facts had often seized upon his fancy, though they 
had failed to touch his heart. Hitherto, indeed, he had 
fallen into the common error of limited research, and found 
a confirmation of his suspicions in the assumed grasp of his 
own reason. The dread moment that was so near could not 
fail of its influence, however ; and that unknown future 
over which he hung, as it might be, suspended by a hair, 
inevitably led his mind into an inquiry after the unknown 
God. 

“Dost thou know, Ghita,” he asked, “that the learned 
of France tell us that all yonder bright stars are worlds, 
peopled most probably like this of our own, and to which 
the earth appears but as a star itself, and that, too, of no 
great magnitude ? ’ ’ 

“And what is this, Raoul, to the power and majesty of 
Him who created the universe ? Ah ! think not of the 
things of His hand, but of Him who made them ! ’ ’ 

“Hast thou ever heard, my poor Ghita, that the mind 
of man hath been able to invent instruments to trace the 
movements of all these worlds, and hath power even to cal- 
culate their wanderings with accuracy, for ages to come ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ And dost thou know, my poor Raoul, what this mind of 
man is? ” 

“A part of his nature — the highest quality; that which 
maketh him the lord of earth.” 

“His highest quality, and that which maketh him lord 
of earth, in one sense, truly ; but, after all, a mere fragment 


MfnflsanbsMtng 


461 


'—a spot on the width of the heavens — of the spirit of God 
Himself. It is in this sense that he hath been made in the 
image of his creator.” 

“Thou think’ St then, Ghita, that man is God, after all.” 

‘ ‘ Raoul ! — Raoul ! if thou wouldst not see me die with 
thee, interpret not my words in this manner ! ” 

“Would it, then, be so hard to quit life in my company, 
Ghita? To me it would seem supreme felicity, were our 
places to be changed.” 

“ To go whither ? Hast thou bethought thee of this, my 
beloved ? ’ ’ 

Raoul answered not for some time. His eyes were fas- 
tened on a bright star, and a tumult of thoughts began to 
crowd upon his brain. There are moments in the life of 
every man when the mental vision obtains clearer views of 
remote conclusions, equally in connection with the past and 
the future, as there are days when an atmosphere purer than 
common more readily gives up its objects to the physical 
organs, — leaving the mind momentarily the master, almost 
without control. One of these gleams of truth passed over 
the faculties of the dying man, and it could not be altogether 
without its fruits. Raoul’s soul was agitated by novel sen- 
sations. 

“Do thy priests fancy that they who have known and 
loved each other in this life,” he asked, “ will know and love 
each other in that which they fancy is to come? ” 

“The life that is to come, Raoul, is one all love, or one 
all hatred. That we may know each other I try to hope ; 
nor do I see any reason for disbelieving it. My uncle is of 
opinion it must be so.” 

“Thy uncle, Ghita? What, Carlo Giuntotardi— he who 
seemeth never to think of things around him doth a 
mind like his dwell on thoughts as remote and sublime as 
this?” 

“ Tittle dost thou know or understand him, Raoul. His 
mind seldom ceases to dwell on thoughts like these ; this is 
the reason why earth, and all it contains, seem so indifferent. 

Raoul made no answer, but appearing to suffer under the 
pain of his wound, the feelings of woman so far prevailed 


462 




over Ghita’s tender nature that she had not the heart to 
press even his salvation on him at such a moment. She 
offered him soothing drinks, and nursed him with unabated 
care ; and when there seemed to be a cessation to his suffer- 
ings, she again passed minutes on her knees, her whole soul 
absorbed in his future welfare. An hour passed in this man- 
ner, all on or near the rock sleeping, overcome by fatigue, 
but Ghita and the dying man. 

“That star haunts me, Ghita!” Raoul at length' mut- 
tered. “If it be really a world, some all-powerful hand 
must have created it. Chance never made a world, more 
than chance made a ship. Thought, mind, intelligence must 
have governed at the formation of one as well as of the 
other.” 

For months Ghita had not known an instant as happy as 
that. It appeared as if the mind of Raoul were about to 
extricate itself from the shallow philosophy so much in fash- 
ion, and which had hitherto deadened a nature so kind, an 
intellect ordinarily so clear. Could his thoughts but once 
take the right direction, she had strong confidence in the 
distinctness of their views, but most of all in the goodness 
of the Deity. 

“Raoul,” she whispered, “ God is there, as He is with us, 
on this rock. His spirit is everywhere. Bless Him I bless 
Him in thy soul, my beloved, and be forever happy I ” 

Raoul answered not. His face was upturned, and his eye 
still remained riveted on that particular star. Ghita would 
not disturb him, but taking his hand in hers, she once more 
knelt and resumed her prayers. Minute passed after min- 
ute, and neither seemed disposed to speak. At length Ghita 
became woman again, and bethought her of her patient’s 
bodily wants. It was time to administer the liquids of the 
surgeon, and she advanced to hold them to his lips. The 
eye was still fastened on the star, but the lips did not meet 
her with the customary smile of love. They were com- 
pressed, as when the body was about to mingle in the strife 
of a battle, a sort of stern resolution being settled on them. 
Raoul Yvard was dead. 

The discovery of the truth was a fearful moment to Ghita. 


Mina-ant):=Mina 


463 


Not a living being near her had the consciousness of her 
situation, all being bound in the sleep of the weary. The 
first feeling was that which belonged to her sex. She threw 
herself on the body, and embraced it wildly, giving way to 
those pent-up emotions which her lover, in his moody 
humors, was wont to accuse her of not possessing. She 
kissed the forehead, the cheeks, the pallid, stem lips of the 
dead; and, for a time, there was the danger that her own 
spirit might pass away in the paroxysm of her grief. But 
it was morally impossible for Ghita to remain long under 
the influence of despair. Her gentle spirit had communed 
too long and too closely with her Heavenly Father, not to 
resort to his support in all the critical moments of life. She 
prayed, for the tenth time that night, and arose from her 
knees calm, if not absolutely resigned. 

The situation of Ghita was now as wildly picturesque as 
it was moving to her inmost spirit. All around her still 
slept, and that, to the eye, as profoundly as he who was 
only to rise again when the sea and the land give up their 
dead. The excitement and exertions of the past day pro- 
duced their reaction, and seldom did sleep exercise a more 
profound influence. The fire was still burning bright on the 
islet of the gig-men, casting its rays fairly athwart the ruins, 
the different sleepers in them, and the immovable body of 
the dead. At moments, gusts of the Tramontana, which 
was now blowing fresh, descended so low as to fan the flames, 
when the glare that succeeded seemed to give a startling 
reality to all that surrounded the place. 

Still the girl was too highly sustained to be moved with 
anything but her loss, and her restless inquietude for the 
departed spirit. She saw that even her uncle slept, leaving 
her truly alone with Raoul. Once a feeling of desertion 
came over her, and she was inclined to arouse some of the 
sleepers. She did approach the spot where the surgeon lay, 
and her hand was raised to stir him, when a flash of light 
shot athwart the pallid countenance of Raoul, and she per- 
ceived that his eyes were still open. Drawing near, she 
bent over the body, gazing long and wistfully into those 
windows of the soul that had so often beamed on her in 


464 




manly tenderness, and she felt like a miser with his hoarded 
gold, unwilling to share it with any other. 

Throughout the livelong night did Ghita watch by the 
body of her well-beloved, now hanging over it with a ten- 
derness no change could extinguish, now besieging heaven 
with her prayers. Not one awoke to interfere with the 
strange happiness she felt in those pious ofi&ces, or to wound 
her sensibilities by the surprise or the sneers of the vulgar. 
Kre the day came, she closed the eyes of Raoul with her 
own hands, covered his body with a French ensign that lay 
upon the rock, and sat, patient and resigned, awaiting the 
moment when some of the others might be ready to aid her 
in performing the last pious offices in behalf of the dead. 
As a Romanist, she found a holy consolation in that beau- 
tiful portion of her church’s creed that admits of unceasing 
petition for the souls of the departed, even to the latest hour 
of earthly things. 

Winchester was the first to stir. Starting up, he appeared 
to be astonished at the situation in which he found himself ; 
but a glance around told the whole truth. Advancing 
towards Ghita, he was about to inquire after the welfare 
of Raoul, when, struck by the expression of her seraphic 
countenance, he turned to the body, and read the truth in 
the appropriate pall. It was no time for self-upbraidings, or 
for reproaches to others ; but arousing the sleepers, in a sub- 
dued and respectful manner, he gave to the place the quiet 
and seeming sanctity of a chapel. 

Carlo Giuntotardi soon after begged the dead body from 
the conquerors. There was no motive for denying the 
request, and it was placed in a boat and towed to the shore, 
accompanied by all who had remained. The heavy sirocco 
that soon succeeded drove the waves athwart the islet of 
the ruins, effectually erasing its stains of blood, and sweep- 
ing every trace of Te Feu-Follet, and of the recent events, 
into the sea. 

At the foot of the Scaricatojo the seamen constructed a 
rude bier, and thus they bore the dead up that wild and yet 
lovely precipice, persevering in their good work until they 
reached the cottage of Carlo Giuntotardi’ s sister. A little 




465 


procession accompanied the body from the first, and Ghita 
being universally known and respected among the simple 
inhabitants of those heights, when it entered the street of 
St. Agata it had grown into a line that included a hundred 
believers. 

The convent, the empty buildings of which still crown 
the summit of one of the adjacent hills, was then in exist- 
ence as a religious community ; and the influence of Carlo 
Giuntotardi was sufficient to procure its ofiices in behalf of 
the dead. For three days and nights did the body of Raoul 
Yvard, the unbeliever, lie in the chapel of that holy frater- 
nity, his soul receiving the benefit of masses ; then it was 
committed to holy ground, to await the summons of the 
last trump. 

There is a strange disposition in the human breast to 
withhold praise from a man when living, that is freely ac- 
corded to him when dead. Although we believe that envy, 
and its attendant evil, detraction, are peculiarly democratic 
vices, meaning thereby that democracy is the most fertile 
field in which these human failings luxuriate, yet is there 
much reason to think that our parent nation is pre-eminent 
in the exhibition of the peculiarity first mentioned. That 
which subsequently awaited Napoleon, after his imprison- 
ment and death, was now exhibited in the case of Raoul 
Yvard, on a scale suited to his condition and renown. 
From being detested in the English fleet, he got to be hon- 
ored and extolled. Now that he was dead and harmless, 
his seamanship could be praised, his chivalry emulated, and 
his courage glorified. Winchester, McBean, O’Eeary, and 
Clinch, attended his funeral, quite as a matter of course. 
They had proved themselves worthy to be there ; but many 
others insisted on being of the party. Some came to get a 
last look of so celebrated an adventurer, even in his coffin ; 
others to say they had been present ; and not a few to catch 
a glimpse of the girl whose romantic but innocent passion 
had got to be the subject of much discourse in the ships. 
The result was such a procession, and such funeral honors, 
as threw the quiet little hamlet of St. Agata into commo- 
tion. All noted the particulars, and all were pleased but 

30 


466 




Ghita. On her, these tardy compliments failed of their 
effect, her soiil being engrossed with the great care of 
petitioning heaven in behalf of the deceased. 

Andrea Barrofaldi and Vito Viti, too, figured on this 
occasion ; the latter taking care to let all who would listen 
understand how closely he had been connected with ‘ ‘ Sir 
Smees ” ; no longer viewed as an impostor, but honored as 
a hero. He even created a little difl&culty in claiming a 
precedency for the toga over arms on the occasion ; well 
knowing that if the vice-governatore got a conspicuous 
place in the ceremony, the podest^ could not fail to be near 
at hand. The matter was settled entirely to Andrea’s satis- 
faction, if not to that of his friend. 

To confess the truth, Nelson was not sorry for what had 
occurred. When he learned the desperate nature of Raoul’s 
defence, and heard some traits of his liberal conduct on va- 
rious occasions, he felt a generous regret at his death ; but 
he thought even this preferable to escape. When Cuffe 
got in, and brought the report of the lugger’s fate, though 
he would have preferred her capture, the common sentiment 
settled down into a feeling that both lugger and commander 
had fared as well as a privateer and her people usually 
merited. 

As a matter of course, those concerned in the capture, and 
who survived the affair, reaped some advantage from their 
success. England seldom fails in the duty of conferring re- 
wards, more especially in her marine. When Cook returned 
from his renowned voyages, it was not to meet with perse- 
cution and neglect, but credit and justice. Nelson knew 
how to appreciate that spirit and enterprise which were so 
often exercised by himself. As for Sir Frederick Dash- 
wood, little could be done besides giving his name an hon- 
orable place on the list of those who had fallen in battle. 
His heir wore mourning, seemed filled with sorrow, and 
inwardly rejoiced at being a baronet with some thousands a 
year. Eyon got his ship ; and from that moment he ceased 
to consider the chase and all connected with Ee Feu-Follet 
an unprofitable thing. Airchy followed him to the Terp- 
sichore, with visions of prize-money before his eyes, which 




467 


were tolerably realized in the course of the succeeding five 
years. 

Winchester was promoted into the Ringdove, and Grifiin 
became first of the Proserpine. This, of course, made Yel- 
verton second, and left one vacancy. Thus far the orders 
had been made out, when Cufife dined with the admiral, by 
invitation, tite-h-tHe. 

“One of my objects in having you here to-day, Cuffe,” 
observed Nelson, as they sat together over their wine, the 
cabin cleared, “ was to say something about the vacant berth 
in your gun-room ; and the other was to beg a master’s-mate 
of you, in behalf of Berry. You remember that some of 
your people were received on board here before you got in, 
the other day ? ’ ’ 

“ I do, my lord ; and I meant to make my acknowledgments 
for the favor. The poor fellows had a warm time of it at the 
rocks, and deserved comfortable berths after it was over.” 

‘ ‘ I believe we gave them as much ; at least, I know few 
suffer in this ship. Well, there was a mate among them, 
who is a little advanced, and who is likely to stick where he 
is, by what I learn. We want just such a man for the hold, 
and I have promised my captain to speak to you about him. 
Don’t let him go if there ’s any reason for wishing to retain 
him ; but we have three seamen ready to exchange against 
him ; good fellows, too, they tell me.” 

Cuffe picked some nuts, and appeared a little at a loss for 
a reply. Nelson saw this, and he fancied the other reluctant 
to give up his mate. 

“Well, I see how it is,” he said, smiling. “We must do 
without him, and you will keep your Mr. Clinch. A thor- 
ough ofiicer in a ship’s hold is an advantage not to be 
thrown away ; and I suppose, if Hotham had asked such a 
thing of old Agamemnon, he might have whistled for the 
favor. The deuce is in it, if we do not get as good a mate 
somewhere ! ” 

“It’s not that, my lord, — you’re welcome to the man, 
though a better in his station cannot be had. But, I was in 
hopes his recent good conduct, and his long services, might 
give him a lift into the vacant gun-room berth.” 


468 




The admiral appeared surprised, while he did not seem to 
be exactly pleased. 

‘ ‘ It has a hard look, I grant you, Cuffe, to keep a poor 
devil ten or fifteen years in the same station, and this, too, 
after he has served long enough for a commission. I was a 
captain ten years younger than this Mr. Clinch must be to- 
day, and it does seem hard ; and yet I doubt not it is just. 
I have rarely known a midshipman or a mate passed over, 
in this way, that there was not some great fault at the bot- 
tom. We must think of the service, as well as of generosity. ’ ’ 

“ I confess all this, my lord ; and yet I did hope poor 
Clinch’s delinquencies would at length be forgotten.” 

‘ ‘ If there are any particular reasons for it, I should like to 
hear them.” 

Cuffe now related all that had passed between himself and 
the master’s-mate, taking care to give Jane a due place in 
his history. Nelson began to twitch the stump of his arm, 
and by the time the story was told. Clinch’s promotion was 
settled. An order was sent forthwith, to the secretary, to 
make out the orders, and Cuffe carried them back with him 
to the Proserpine that night, when he returned to his own 
ship. 

All Nelson’s promotions were confirmed by the Admiralty, 
pretty much as a matter of course. Among others was that 
of Clinch, who now became the junior lieutenant of the 
Proserpine. This elevation awakened new feelings within 
him. He dressed better ; refrained from the bottle ; paid 
more attention to his mind ; improved in manners by keep- 
ing better company ; and, in the course of the next twelve- 
month, had made rapid advances towards respectability. At 
the end of that time, the ship was sent home ; and Jane, 
in her imagination at least, received the reward of all her 
virtuous constancy, by becoming his wife. Nor did Cuffe 
cease his friendly ofiices here. He succeeded in getting 
Clinch put in command of a cutter ; in which he captured 
a privateer, after a warm action, within a month. This 
success procured him a gun-brig, and with her he was still 
more fortunate ; actually cutting out, with her boats, a 
French sloop-of-war, that was not half manned, it is true, 




469 


but which was still considered a handsome prize. For this 
affair he got the sloop ; thus demonstrating the caprice of 
fortune, by whose means he found himself a commander in 
less than three years after he had been a mate. Here he 
stuck, however, for a long time, until he got another sloop 
in fair fight, when he was posted. From that moment we 
have lost sight of him. 

Cuffe being sent into the Gulf of Genoa, shortly after, seized 
the opportunity to restore the vice-governatore and his friend 
to their native island. The fame of their deeds had pre- 
ceded them, exaggerated, as a matter of course, by the tongue 
of rumor. It was understood that the two Elbans were act- 
ually in the fight in which Raoul Yvard fell ; and, there 
being no one to deny it, many even believed that Vito Viti, 
in particular, had killed the corsair with his own hand. A 
discreet forbearance on the part of the podest^ always kept 
the matter so completely involved in mystery, that we 
question if any traveller who should visit the island, even 
at this day, would be able to learn more than we now tell 
the reader. In a word, the podest^, forever after, passed 
for a hero, through one of those mysterious processes by 
which men sometimes reach fame ; quite as much, perhaps, 
to their own astonishment, as to the surprise of everybody 
else. 

As for Ithuel, he did not appear in America for many 
years. When he did return, he came back with several 
thousand dollars ; how obtained no one knew, nor did he 
choose to enter into particulars. He now married a widow, 
and settled in life. In due time he “ experienced religion,” 
and at this moment is an active abolitionist, a patron of the 
temperance cause, teetotally, and a general terror to evil- 
doers, under the appellation of Deacon Bolt. 

It was very different with the meek, pious, and single- 
minded Ghita ; though one was e’en a Roman Catholic, and 
the other a Protestant, and that, too, of the Puritan school. 
Our heroine had little of this world left to live for. She 
continued, however, to reside with her uncle, until his days 
were numbered ; and then she retired to a convent, not so 
much to comply with any religious superstitions, as to be able 


470 


Mtna*»anD^Ming 


to pass her time, uninterrupted, in repeating prayers for the 
soul of Raoul. To her latest hour, and she lived until quite 
recently, did this pure-minded creature devote herself to what 
she believed to be the eternal welfare of the man who had so 
interwoven himself with her virgin affections, as to threaten, 
at one time, to disturb the just ascendency of the dread Being 
who had created her. 


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